Ceres: The Price of War (Book 2)
by Connor the speling pro
Summary: The empirists have been scattered by the forces of democracy, turning the struggles on Vulcan into a war of attrition where innocents are caught in the crossfire. While Ness and Ninten deal with this strife, Jeff delves further into the dark secrets under Ceres' glamorous surface. Second installment in the Ceres trilogy.
1. Prologue: Consequences

**I finished writing the rough draft for Time Distorter on Monday, so I had time to get back to this story. I actually wrote most of these two chapters in one day (don't ask me how), breaking my personal record. Um... yeah, I don't know why you would care, but... xD**

 **Anyways, I decided to do somewhat of a mix between the two choices that I had on the poll. I'm going to continue updating as I go instead of writing the whole thing out (which you're probably figured out by now given that you're reading this :P), but I'm going to work a bit further ahead.**

 **I've never felt so much like George RR Martin as I did when writing this fic. So political. xD I tried to make it interesting, though. But honestly, what are you gonna do when you need to cover the president's PoV? If you're curious to hear what happened to Ninten, that's what next chapter is about. :)**

 **If you don't know me, sorry for spilling this, but... well, this fic is the second one in a planned trilogy. I'm not going to lie; the first installment of the trilogy isn't anywhere near perfect and I can totally understand if you don't want to read it. But it** ** _does_** **have things that I did relatively well... I mean, it's obviously not going to be as sleek and clean as a published book, but I think that I didn't do** ** _too_** **bad of a job on it, all things considered. :) If you're willing to check out the first installment, it would mean a lot to me. :D But... just a warning: it's kinda long. xD Again, it's totally fine if you don't want anything to do with me anymore. The back button is in the upper left. I won't know if you press it. ;)**

 **...Still going ahead even though you haven't read the first part? Well, just in case a few of you do that, I should clarify a few things. First, there are some OCs, although most of them have relations to canon characters. Actually, a lot of them feature in this chapter. Wait! Don't go! I mean... you can leave if you want to, but I promise that my OCs aren't cancer! DX Really, I try to make them good. Some of them are OP, but only as antagonists. Ah, I'm not really making a good case for myself, am I? Well, here are the ones that feature in this chapter:**

 **-Minerva Carpainter, president of planet Ceres. She's the daughter of Mr. Carpainter and ordered his capture and execution. She's considered a benevolent ruler, but only because she sweeps ugly truths under the proverbial rug. Her main claim to shame is that she basically destroyed Lucas' and Claus' planet (called Aphrodite) with nuclear weapons for reasons that aren't completely clear.**

 **-Megan Aniah: Secretary of Psionics on Planet Ceres. She's friends with Minerva (although she doesn't know about the whole nukes thing) and is Ana's mother.**

 **-Juno Monotoli: Distant relative of Geldegarde Monotoli; she's really annoying and not much else is known about her. :P**

 **So yeah, I don't want to scare you away with those chars. ;) But instead, I may have scared you away with a big wall of text. I'm sowwy. D:**

 **And also, I just realized a few days ago that my line breaks in ch. 29 (with the back and forth scenes between Ninten and Ana) didn't show up for whatever reason. No wonder some of you were confused. xD I fixed that. Sorry!**

 **Also, Merry Christmas! :D**

* * *

Minerva Carpainter walked through the upper halls of the Ceres capitol building. Since the place used to be a psyching palace, it was filled with enough artistic shit to make her eyes bleed.

 _Don't lie,_ she told herself. _The reason that you don't appreciate art is that what you've done has prevented you from seeing any beauty in this universe._

Minerva sighed inwardly. It was tough being truthful with herself, especially as someone who had killed millions of innocent people. _Genocide._ It was as if that word had been etched into her mind, never allowing her to escape thinking about it. She supposed that she deserved it.

A familiar figure walked up to Minerva, interrupting her thoughts.

"Ah, Ms. Monotoli," Minerva said. "Do you have something to report?"

Juno Monotoli twirled her red, curly hair around one of her fingers.

"Are we in private?" she asked.

"As private as I can get. Nobody else is supposed to be up this high, and there are more psionic enchantments than I remember making sure that it stays that way."

"Well, then…" Juno said. "One of the chimeras escaped."

 _Shit._

"Well then," Minerva said. "Let's put it down and blame the starmen. It's what we always do."

"Well…" Juno said with a grimace. "It's not that simple. You see, this is one of the chimeras on _Vulcan._ "

"One of the _human_ chimeras?" Minerva asked.

Juno nodded.

"Psych," Minerva swore, clenching her fists.

"So what do you plan to do, Ms. President?" Juno asked, and Minerva swore that she covered up a smile.

 _I guess she enjoys watching me squirm,_ Minerva thought.

"I have a… friend who will take the chimera out," she said.

"This one's dangerous," Juno said. "It's the savant."

A chill ran down Minerva's spine. A psionic savant running free on Vulcan? That was almost as dangerous as Giygas!

No. Deep breaths. Minerva was overreacting. She had survived the scrutiny that came after the destruction of Aphrodite; she could take this.

 _And is that all you're worried about?_ Minerva asked herself. _Scrutiny? Not the countless lives that the chimera will reap? Not the pain that you just caused to people who already have nothing?_

Minerva shut her mind up. She needed to find a practical way to deal with this.

"My friend should be able to deal with the chimera," Minerva repeated, straightening her back and speaking in a commanding voice. "She is skilled at killing _things,_ and even psionic savants are mortal."

 _I guess Dr. Andonuts was right._ Minerva thought. _I should never have tried that experiment. I guess my only choice is to clean up the mess that I've made._

"If you say so, Ms. President," Juno said, seeming unconvinced. "After all, it's not _my_ neck on the line."

 _Thanks for reminding me,_ Minerva thought wryly.

"I hope that's all," Minerva said curtly.

Juno Monotoli nodded.

"Then you are dismissed," Minerva said. "Try not to torture any more teenagers, all right? Otherwise, I might have to find another job to fire you from."

Minerva enjoyed watching the color drain from Juno's face more than was probably healthy. Juno gave a stiff curtsy and walked away. Minerva's smile faded as she looked at her watch. It was already time for the meeting. And after that meeting, she had _another_ one scheduled… today was going to be a busy day.

 _Now, time for another doozy,_ Minerva thought, taking a deep breath.

"Teleport," she whispered.

The next second, she appeared in a secluded room behind a glass table table. The window on the other side of the table displayed a view of the prettier parts of Ceres, such as the crystalline towers and the massive Shard that was stuck in Ceres' ground like an arrowhead that barely pierced the skin. In front of that window stood Megan Aniah, Minerva's close friend.

She did not look pleased.

"Minerva," she said. "I hear that you used ectoplasmic warriors to fight the empirists." She took two stiff strides forward and slammed her hands on the table. "How?"

 _You don't have to yell,_ Minerva thought, resisting the urge to plug her ears.

"That's my little secret," she said, putting on what she hoped was an insufferable smile.

"It has something to do with the needles that you and Morgan were looking for two years ago, doesn't it?" Megan asked. Furrowing her eyebrows, "What became of that, anyways? You never told me the details."

 _Thank goodness that she's not clever enough to figure out the whole equation,_ Minerva thought.

"I suppose that it doesn't matter," Megan said, "Nor does it matter how you controlled them. The question is _why?"_

"Would you rather send real soldiers over to die?" Minerva asked.

"Actually, yeah!" Megan exclaimed. "What part of an army of robot-like machines that kill ruthlessly and that you can't completely control _doesn't_ immediately alert you to the fact that something is horribly wrong?"

Minerva stared out into the distance, marveling at the sparkling towers in the distance. If only all of Ceres could be so nice. Minerva _wanted_ to base her decisions off of what felt right to her…

But sometimes, what needed to be done felt just plain _wrong._

"…How do you know that I can't exert complete control over them?" Minerva asked.

"Because I'm not stupid?" Megan said, narrowing her eyes in disgust. "You can't control each individual soldier. There's no psyching way that you have enough energy for that. You just give them basic orders for them to follow… and the soldiers don't always follow through that well!"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Minerva asked.

"My husband told me today that your little soldiers killed _civilians_. Dozens of them. Not even empirists."

"When was this?" Minerva asked, raising an eyebrow. "I made sure that my soldiers only went after empirist warriors."

 _And I nearly blew up a village full of unarmed people,_ she thought. _But Megan doesn't have to know that._

"It was today," Megan said, scowling. "Can't you at least show some remorse?"

"That wasn't me," Minerva said. "Now that Boras Lorune is dead, I can shift my focus over to domestic policy. I gave Geldegarde Monotoli control over most of the active soldiers."

"Oh, that's better," Megan said sarcastically. " _You_ didn't kill dozens of innocent people, you only gave someone else the tools to do it. Everything's fine now."

"How was I supposed to know that he would attack civilians?" Minerva asked. "It's unfortunate, but I made the statistically correct decision based on the information that I was given. I _am_ sorry that it happened, but we won't get anything accomplished by mourning for them."

"I'm not psyching asking you to mourn!" Megan shouted. "I'm asking you to get rid of those soldiers! They're a psyching disgrace!"

"Calm down," Minerva said.

"THERE ARE TIMES TO BE ANGRY AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM!"

Minerva grimaced. She hadn't seen Megan this angry… well, ever.

 _Imagine what she would say if she knew what really happened on Aphrodite,_ Minerva thought with a shiver.

"Listen," Megan said. "This is not acceptable. We will _not_ let ourselves fall to the level where we see needless tragedies as necessary."

"I agree," Minerva said, "But these soldiers are a powerful peacekeeping device."

"Are they really?" Megan spat. "Because I think that they only perpetrate more war."

"War creates peace," Minerva said. "And it's not so different from a psion blasting people from far away."

"Commanding machines to do our killing isn't right," Megan hissed. "Yeah, psions cause a lot of collateral damage, but at least people can think about the consequences of what they're doing. Ectoplasmic warriors can't."

"I'm not going to send my people to death," Minerva said. "Not when these soldiers will fight for me."

"I'm afraid that you're just playing into the fears of the Vulcanese," Megan replied. "They already have a view of the Ceres government as harsh and uncaring. Sending in psionic machines to do our dirty work only adds to that image. We _cannot_ have the entire planet of Vulcan against us, Ms. Carpainter."

 _She called me "Ms. Carpainter,"_ Minerva thought. _Not "Minerva." Ouch._

"I suppose that you are right," Minerva conceded. "While you may not have evidence that the tragedies taken place would really be prevented by eliminating the soldiers…" Minerva cleared her throat as Megan scowled. "Not everyone recognizes that. The people on Vulcan are already bitter, and casualties due to ectoplasmic warriors will not help our cause. I will discuss this with Geldegarde Monotoli."

"Good," Megan said. "I'm just upset that I had to resort to that argument. Two years ago, you would have seen that what you were doing is wrong."

Minerva swallowed her anger. How many times did she have to explain this to Megan?

"Change is not bad," Minerva said. "I see more clearly now. Sometimes, you have to do the wrong thing to survive. It might not be justified, but it's our only way to get by."

 _Although,_ Minerva thought. _That's the logic that I employed when ordering the destruction of Aphrodite._

Minerva looked into Megan's fiery eyes.

 _She would try to murder me where I stood if she knew,_ Minerva thought. _And I don't know if I would have the will to stop her._

Dangerous. The universe _needed_ Minerva, even if she was an evil dictator under the guise of a benevolent ruler. Without her stranglehold on the starmen, Giygas would have swept over all human civilization by now. She couldn't afford to die now, as much as she wanted to.

 _But what happens in ten years?_ Minerva asked herself. _Twenty? Fifty? A hundred? How much longer can I hold on? And when I finally let go and die, what happens next?_

Minerva sighed. This is why she didn't think more often.

"What's that sigh for?" Megan snapped.

"I just want there to be an easy way out," Minerva said truthfully. "I want to be the person I told myself that I _would_ be. But life isn't that easy. Life isn't that simple. Life is tiring. That's why I sighed."

Megan's face turned from enraged to empathetic. Her shoulders slouched back into their regular position.

"I get what you mean," Megan whispered. "I want to make things _right._ I want to solve every problem with the flick of a switch. Sometimes, I wonder if I should just give up… but I don't. God wants me to do this. He gives me the tools so that I _can_ do it."

Minerva almost snorted. Religion was nothing more than a tool used to manipulate others. Her father had shown her that simple truth.

"So," Megan said. "I guess that I can understand why you want to take the easy way out."

"What do you mean?" Minerva asked. _I'm not trying to kill myself yet,_ she finished in her head.

"There's a problem," Minerva said. "Bam. Empirists. They have a big sword, metaphorically speaking. They're a threat. So what do you do? Get a bigger sword and try to hack them to bits. It's easy; it's there. Going into and addressing the cultural and political roots behind the empirist movement is hard; trying to use brute force to solve the problem is easy."

Minerva raised an eyebrow. She wanted to counter Megan's argument but couldn't find the words to do so.

"There are times when war is necessary," Megan said. "But I think that those situations occur less often than you might expect. I think that we could have addressed the root causes that lead to the modern empirist movement: frustration with business and poor resource allocation. We could have gone to Vulcan as friends instead of soldiers."

"It's a little late for that," Minerva muttered.

"It is," Megan said. "I wish that I had seen that sooner. So now that we're enemies with Vulcan and… I don't know what to do."

"I guess I'll start by meeting with Mr. Monotoli," Minerva said. "The empirists are scattered. We don't need ectoplasmic warriors to win this war anymore. He _has_ to see that."

"You didn't see that just ten minutes ago," Megan pointed out.

 _…Shit._

Minerva clenched her jaw.

"…Politics are the psyching _worst,_ " she said.

"It really is a crummy job that we've got, huh?" Megan asked with a wry smile.

"Well," Minerva said. "Nothing to do but make the best of it, I guess. Goodbye, Megan."

"See you, Minerva."

Minerva smiled. The fact that Megan referred to her by first name when she was calm proved that the two of them retained at least a _little_ bit of their bond.

"Dimension Door," Minerva said, a portal to emptiness appearing in front of her.

She hopped inside. After using that psionic power so often, she was no longer fascinated by the inexorable emptiness that stretched off to infinity past the portal. Minerva floated in oblivion for a few seconds before creating another dimension door and hopping in.

She braced herself for the toxic air as she appeared in a building on planet Vulcan. Naturally, the place reeked of smoke and oil. The air tickled her throat. Minerva resisted the urge to cough. The sight of so much grey and black seemed to sap some of her energy.

She turned to face Geldegarde Monotoli, who stood just a few feet away. If he was surprised by Minerva's sudden appearance on Vulcan, he didn't show it.

"Well, this is unexpected," Monotoli said with a chilling smile. "What brings you here, Ms. President?"

This _had_ to go well. If it didn't… how many lives would be lost? How much more damage would Vulcan take? Minerva buried her anxiety and put on a welcoming smile.

"It was brought to my attention that you killed some civilians with the ectoplasmic warriors that I gave you, Secretary Monotoli," she said. "That doesn't look good on us."

"An honest mistake," Monotoli said with a shrug. "They sure _looked_ like empirists. At least, from the point of view of the ectoplasmic soldiers. Their senses aren't the best."

"Well, you had better do something about that," Minerva said, trying not to let anger seep into her voice.

"It was just a small incident," Monotoli said. "We can bury it. No harm done."

 _No harm done except to the civilians,_ Minerva thought.

"I see what you're thinking, Ms. President," Monotoli said with a knowing smile. "You don't like hiding things from your people, especially since we're supposed to be the good guys. Well, even the good guys have to cover up these kinds of incidents every once in a while. The public doesn't always react rationally to an honest mistake such as this one. Every government throughout history hides things from its citizens; it is madness to try to change that now."

Minerva clenched her jaw, letting the pain that sprouted beneath her cheeks comfort her.

"I… suppose that you are right," Minerva said. "We can cover it up, but we need to do more to prevent such… mistakes from happening in the future."

Geldegarde Monotoli nodded.

"Ah yes," he said. "I shall be more careful in the future."

"Not good enough," Minerva said. "I shall take the warriors back and store them. We basically won the war already; our psions can do the rest of the work."

Monotoli stiffened.

"You are mistaken, Ms. President," he whispered. "This war is not over. Not by far. Yes, the empirists are scattered. But they are like rats: if there are any of them left, they'll spread throughout the metaphorical house. So what do we do with rats?" Monotoli's eyes shined with zeal. "We kill them," he whispered.

Minerva felt queasy. Why did Monotoli look so much like her father in that moment?

"The empirists can predict and understand our psionics," Monotoli continued. "They know what psions look like and what we can do." He leaned in and whispered into Minerva's ear, "These warriors are our secret weapon. We'll keep the empirists in a constant state of fear. If we keep them worried about their own safety, then they'll lose the motivation to go on the offensive."

 _I don't know if that's how it works…_ Minerva thought.

"Besides," Monotoli said. "The people of Ceres already received the news about the existence of these warriors. If you pull your soldiers out… let's just say that if the empirists attack again, you'll have to answer some pointed questions about why you don't care enough about our safety to send some soldiers in to deal with the empirists."

The atmosphere in the room turned from toxic to unbearable. Having to deal with a mob of angry people wanting a stronger military… That was basically Minerva's worst nightmare. Well, it was her worst nightmare _besides_ what happened on Aphrodite two years ago.

"Yes," Geldegarde Monotoli said. "You _do_ care about how the people view you. And this is a democracy. You should listen to what your people have to say, yes? If they want to continue using these soldiers… isn't it your duty as a democratic leader to follow their requests?"

 _He knows too much about me,_ Minerva thought. _I've always been a champion of the people, and I'll support pretty much anything that they want._

"These same people would also say that killing civilians is unacceptable," Minerva pointed out.

"Yes," Geldegarde Monotoli said. "They would. That's why I'm going to be more careful. But to eliminate this key portion of our militaristic strength entirely… maybe you should run a few polls on that and come back to me."

Minerva wanted to object, but the picture in her mind of angry protestors yelling about how she didn't care about dealing with the empirists was too much to bear.

 _I'm the most powerful person in the universe,_ Minerva thought, _Yet I am more than a puppet. A puppet for the people to control and then the scapegoat that gets blamed for everything._

 _Well… except for that mistake on Aphrodite. That was my bad._

"You make compelling points, Secretary Monotoli," Minerva said. "I agree that it would be… prudent to poll the public before taking drastic action." _Megan's going to kill me._ "I shall return to you in a week, but if I decide that the soldiers must go…"

"Yes, yes," Monotoli said. "I shall respect your wishes. I'm glad that you can see reason, Ms. President. We wouldn't want to do anything rash that would get us into trouble with the public, after all."

"All right," Minerva said. "I shall be off."

"Have a good day, Ms. President."

Minerva nodded, feeling her nausea grow. She had one meeting left, a meeting that she had been dreading for three days.

It was time to play that bad guy.

"Teleport," Minerva whispered, trying not to hurl.

The next second, she was standing in a utilitarian room with a bed, sink, and toilet. It looked quite similar to a prison cell, the absence of windows only adding to the effect. Inside the room stood a teenage girl with a face mask on. She jumped, turning around to face Minerva. Her eyes widened upon seeing the president. A small flame appeared between her hands, as if _that_ would do any good against Minerva.

"Silence," Minerva said, waving her hands to manifest the power.

The psionic power created a sound bubble around the room, meaning that nobody standing outside would be able to hear them. It was a power often used to cover up the screaming of tortured victims.

Minerva reflected wryly that this usage of the power was not so different.

"Why the _psych_ are you here?" The girl shouted, her hands shaking. "What do you want from me?"

"I think that you know, Ms. Aniah," Minerva said, covering up her guilt with a cold smile.

"N-No I don't," Ana said, taking a step back. "I didn't do anything wrong…"

"But I did," Minerva said. "Isn't that right?"

Ana's eyes widened even further. It looked like Minerva was right.

"It wasn't that hard to put the pieces together," Minerva said. "Based on you looked when I scryed on you yesterday-"

"You were scrying on me?" Ana asked.

"I scry on everyone," Minerva said with a superior smile. "I'm a seer. Scrying is what I do. As I'm sure that you know from your studies in history, seers are the unsung heroes of wars. Being able to get firsthand information about the location, number, condition, and morale of enemy soldiers and psions is priceless."

"So am I an enemy soldier?" Ana asked.

 _I'm worried that you are,_ Minerva thought.

"No," she said. "But I am worried about you."

"Worried about our psyching _agreement,_ you mean," Ana hissed. "That I'll be your good little psionic slave in exchange for you _not_ torturing me in front of my parents' eyes."

 _I don't actually think that I would have the willpower to do that,_ Minerva thought. _So thanks for taking me seriously._

Still, the agreement was dangerous on both ends. Minerva had been surprised to see how much self-control Ana possessed years ago when they made the deal, but the time since had already taken its toll. She had wanted to harness Ana's extraordinary powers to help the universe, but she now worried that she was doing more harm than good. A question surfaced from the depths of her mind, a question that she couldn't quite answer:

How much longer could Ana Aniah last in her current state?

"However you want to put it," Minerva said. "You are a troubled young woman. It comes with meeting Morgan, I suppose."

"You don't give a psych about that," Ana said, shaking her head. Minerva could only imagine that she was sneering under her face mask. "You just care about what she told me."

 _Nice of you to finally say that,_ Minerva said. _I wouldn't want to reveal that I blew up Aphrodite if you didn't already know it._

"That's how you knew Claus," Ana said. "He comes from Aphrodite, doesn't he?"

 _…When did she pick up on that?_

"Yes," Minerva said. "He knows the truth about me."

"That you blew up an entire psyching _planet?_ " Ana asked. "Show some psyching remorse, will you?"

 _You'll never know how awful that makes me feel,_ Minerva thought. _But the universe needs me alive and well. It might need you too, which is why I'm trying to keep you in line. I wish that I could show you how I feel, but life doesn't work that way._

"You sound a lot like your mother," Minerva mused.

"Yeah, because she always says what she thinks," Ana said. "And right now, I'm doing that. You're a psyching _monster!_ "

"Maybe I am," Minerva said, "But I am a 'psyching monster' with leverage over you. I believe that it is in your best interest to continue to support me, yes?"

"I can't believe that I'm psyching hearing this," Ana muttered. "I learn that you destroyed an entire planet and you want me to keep supporting you? No psyching way!"

"Is this really so different from before?" Minerva asked, coughing from the smoke-filled air. "You always despised me, Ana. You always feared me."

"I'm so afraid of you that I hallucinated something like this when I touched a psyching orb," Ana muttered. "You know, the one in the school curriculum where someone who touches it sees the person who scares them the most?"

 _Oh,_ Minerva thought. _That._

For some reason, it made her feel sad that Ana feared her more than any other person in the universe. But that was natural, wasn't it? After what Minerva had done, she didn't have the right to feel surprised.

"What was the point of that, anyway?" Ana asked.

 _So that I know who everyone fears,_ Minerva said. _At least, unless Agerate lied to me when he wrote down what was on their minds. This year's psions were particularly frightful. Ness feared Diana the most, obviously. The Dalaamian fearing his father was interesting, especially since he didn't actually say anything to defend himself… but Claus' fear scares even me. It's sad that he's so terrified of his twin brother. Although, I'm more scared of Diana than I'll ever admit._

"That doesn't matter," Minerva said. "The point is that I have leverage over you, so telling anyone else about this might not be beneficial to your health, if you know what I mean. And we both know that you don't want to cause the people you love any pain by getting yourself hurt."

Ana drew a shaky breath.

"…Fuck you," she said, her eyes narrowing. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Minerva wanted to jump for joy.

"No, you really don't," she said.

"Fine," Ana said. "I won't tell anyone else. I'll pretend like I still support you."

Minerva smiled.

 _I hate to do this,_ she thought, _But…_

Minerva turned on her PSI vision. While she hadn't refined hers to the level that her sister Diana had, she could still read Ana's thoughts quite clearly without using any sort of psionic power that Ana could potentially detect. Most of Ana's thoughts pictured her murdering Minerva in colorful ways. Minerva barely kept from flinching upon seeing what Ana wanted to do to her. She _did_ see that Ana was serious about keeping her word, though… And she hadn't told anyone else yet.

Minerva resisted the urge to sigh in relief as she turned her PSI vision off. Ana cocked her head slightly.

"You seem relieved," she noted.

 _She's perceptive,_ Minerva thought. _Most people can't read me at all, even when I'm under this level of stress._

"Of course I'm relieved," Minerva said. "If this got out, it would be disastrous for both of us. I don't want that to happen."

"…All right," Ana said. "Now do you have anything else to tell me?"

 _She feels the atmosphere too,_ Minerva thought. _I want nothing more than to get away from this situation, and she almost certainly feels the same way. It's unbearable._

"No," Minerva said. "I'll leave you alone. Dimension door."

Minerva created a portal to extradimensional space in front of her and hopped in. She then made a portal to her office on Ceres and jumped through. She hardly noticed the clean air or the beautiful decorations as she landed in her office.

 _I'm free,_ she thought weakly, standing alone on Ceres.

No more hiding her emotions. No more playing the villain. Here, alone in her room in the capitol building of Ceres, she could be herself. Minerva released all of the tension in her body as she walked around the room. She could smile and not have political enemies use it against her. She could sigh without having to reveal to the world that she needed a way to release her anxiety. She could just stand there without anyone telling her to work harder.

It was the best feeling in the universe.

As Minerva took a deep breath of air, the world in front her started to fade away.

 _Oh no,_ she thought, watching her room grow paler and paler. _Not this. Not now._

Minerva screamed, but no sound came out. She felt a vague sense of floating away and then… nothing. No sight, no sound, no smell. It felt like her spirit was being torn from her body.

Which wasn't so far from the truth.

Minerva adjusted to her psionic senses quickly, perceiving a massive _being_ in front of her. She always wondered where she was, where this creature's lair was located. This all would have seemed like a dream if it hadn't happened to her several times already. She knew that this entity was somehow cutting the connection between her physical self and her cognitive self in an effort to speak to her cognitive side.

Minerva was no stranger to seeing the cognitive realm; her PSI vision allowed her to do just that on a daily basis. But without the connection to her body, Minerva couldn't _experience_ anything, not in the physical sense. It felt… unsettling, to say the least.

"Hello, Minerva Carpainter," a woman's voice spoke in her head. "Or shall I call you… Forsaken one?"

If Minerva could perceive pain, those words would have hit like a slap to the face. Feelings of uneasiness gripped her, and not just because of the creature talking to her. Unlike Diana, Minerva wasn't comfortable without her physical senses. She wanted to _see_ this thing, not just perceive it with her PSI vision.

 _"Let me go!"_ Minerva shouted mentally. _"I don't know what you want with me, but-"_

"Oh, you do know what I want," the voice spoke, sounding slightly amused. "I want you to find yourself again, Minerva Carpainter. Such wonderful potential, lost in that explosion two years ago. Forgive me if I cannot feel sympathy for you… or them. I've never been very emotional, you see."

 _"Shut up!"_ Minerva shouted. _"I'm not weak enough to call on something like you for help! How did you even sever my cognitive self from my physical self?"_

"You ask that every time," the voice said, seeming exasperated. "And would you mind keeping it down? We don't want Giygas to hear us."

 _"I don't really care if he does, honestly,"_ Minerva said. _"Why should I trust you any more than him?"_

"The enemy of my enemy is a friend," the voice said. "Have you ever heard that saying, human leader?"

 _"Yes, but I don't trust you,"_ Minerva said.

"You don't have to," the voice replied. "Regardless, if you stop your screaming and flailing, then I can tell you why I called you and you can get back into your body more quickly. How does that sound?"

Minerva stopped "screaming and flailing," which she assumed meant quieting her wild thoughts and ceasing her mental resistance. Words that described physical actions didn't translate to the psionic realm very well.

"There," the voice said. "Now, I have to talk to you about the war on Vulcan. You need to end it. As much as I love chaos, this needless destruction is morally wrong and needs to stop."

 _"Who are you to say anything about morality?"_ Minerva asked. _"You work for Giygas!"_

"Were you even listening?" the voice asked. "I work _against_ him. Now, even on a practical level, your war is faulty. You're only alienating yourself further from the Vulcanese. You'll push more of them to extremism by continuing to fight. For every empirist that you kill, you'll persuade two others to take up arms against you. Stop this, human leader. And this message is coming from an agent of chaos."

 _"Too late,"_ Minerva said.

"It's not," the voice replied. "Call off the war. Say that you won by killing Boras Lorune. Sure, you'll end up going against popular opinion, but it's worth it. Trust me."

 _"I wouldn't trust you with five dollars at a candy shop,"_ Minerva hissed.

"Let me put it this way," the voice said. "Giygas is waiting for you humans to destroy each other. Do you want to do what he's expecting?"

 _"You could be lying,"_ Minerva said.

"You're quite stubborn, aren't you?" the voice asked. "Well, I guess that's all for today. I just wanted to tell you how to save the universe. You know, nothing big. When it comes down to it, you'll have to choose who you want to side with, Minerva. You have to decide between Giygas' order or my chaos. And I sincerely hope that you choose chaos. Have a nice day, forsaken one. Maybe I'll have better luck with your sister."

The next second, Minerva returned to her body. Her senses came flooding back to her on overdrive. She could feel the air touch her skin. She could taste the inside of her mouth. She could smell the flowers on her desk.

She didn't care.

Minerva collapsed to the floor, weeping.

"Silence," she whispered, a sound bubble appearing around her.

This was too much! She had to deal with a war, a morally dubious army of immortal soldiers, a rogue chimera, and she had to do it all in a way that the people approved of. That alone was next to impossible, and now an entity that Minerva didn't understand was trying to influence her?

"It's too much," Minerva whispered, tears blinding her vision. "It's too much, it's too much, IT'S TOO MUCH! …I can't take it. I'm barely hanging on as it is. The bombs that I dropped on Aphrodite…" Minerva squeezed her eyes shut. "I can only take it for so long. Two years! Two… Psyching… Years! I have to let it out eventually. I can't… And now I have all of this other shit weighing me down. Wars, negotiations, creatures that I don't understand… how can _anyone_ take it?"

But Minerva had to take it. The universe needed her. There was no other option.

"I want to die!" Minerva shouted. "Please, let me die!"

Naturally, nothing responded.

"Please…" Minerva whispered.

Minerva _had_ to hang on, but she knew that she couldn't. What was she supposed to do?

"I guess I'll just… lie here and cry," Minerva whispered to herself. "I'll just stay here for a little while. Nobody can hurt me, not here. I'm safe to cry. Journalists won't record me; political enemies won't try to kill me. Scream, scream, scream. Cry, cry, cry. That's a good plan."

It _did_ seem like a good plan. While inside the sound bubble that she had just put up, Minerva could scream until her throat was raw and nobody on the outside would be able to hear.


	2. Chapter 1: Steel Cube

**I have more stuff to say, but since I figured that you guys would fall asleep on me if I put any more content in last chapter's AN... yeah, I moved it over here. :)**

 **I'm really going to try to improve my plot skillz this story. I think that the first installment of Ceres had two major problems:**

 **1\. It didn't really feel like the characters had goals, at least for the first half of part 2**

 **2\. I dished out information too slowly.**

 **I'm planning to address both of those. Hopefully, you'll see that Ninten has a pretty clear goal by the end of this chapter. ;) And as for dishing out more information... I'm planning on releasing a lot of the secrets that I originally scheduled to reveal in book #3 here instead. :D Particularly, a lot of stuff pertaining to Lucas.**

 **That being said, I'll try to have more** ** _stuff_** **happening in each chapter instead of characters just worrying about** ** _stuff._** **The prologue was pretty packed, and while ch. 1 won't have quite as much substance, there's still quite a bit revealed (although you guys know a lot of it already). I'm still tying up loose ends haha.**

 **Now, for my updating schedule. I don't know when the next update is going to be, but I'll probably take a good amount of time off to write some chapters and see if I should make any major plot edits to the earlier ones before releasing them. I just wanted to let you guys know what was happening to Ninten today, and I couldn't do that without writing the prologue first.**

 **Also, if you haven't read the first part...**

 **-Morgan Lorune: She is an empirist, meaning that she wants to resurrect the empire that fell 80 years ago. She's Ninten's first cousin once removed (meaning his dad's cousin), and is pretty jaded.**

 **-Boras Lorune (deceased): The leader of the empirist group mentioned above. Ninten killed him. D: RIP**

 **For the second time, Merry Christmas! :D**

* * *

 **Part 3: Planet of Patriotism**

 **Fragmented Memories: Dr. Andonuts, Earth, ? A.F.**

* * *

 **Note:** These Fragmented Memories came from a journal that I just found lying around. I have no proof that Dr. Andonuts actually wrote this, but I sincerely think that he did. It just… feels right. I wish that I had more information about him, but this journal is all that I can find. The dates on each of the entries are interesting; apparently the first one was written 19 years ago.

Anyways, if I gave this to you and you're reading it for whatever reason… Just know that I don't understand the entries any more than you do. I'll try to find out more about this guy later. Check back with me in ten years or so, all right? I have to move onto gathering the Fragmented Memories of someone… close to my heart.

Cheers,

D. C.; A. A.

* * *

 _Journal Entry: June 23, 61 A.F._

 _Eagleish Male. Partially bald with some grey hair on the sides. About 45 years old, although it's hard to tell for sure. Always wears a lab coat and glasses._

 _His name is Dr. Andonuts._

 _My name becomes Dr. Andonuts._

 _Today, he is born into existence._

 _Today, I phase out of existence._

* * *

"Hey," Claus said, walking up to Ninten. "Are you…?"

"Still out of it?" Ninten answered with a light smirk. He held a psionic stone up so that he could see Claus' face; the purple crystals provided the only source of light in this room. "Maybe."

Claus looked around the room, although Ninten didn't know why he bothered. It had been the same steel room with the same stiff portraits and the same dim lighting every day. Ninten took his face mask off to cough, but the new inflow of toxic air made him cough even more.

"You seem better," Claus noted. "Well, better emotionally."

Ninten nodded, standing up. He paced back and forth, each footstep made a _clang_ on the steel floor.

"Feels like we're in a prison," Ninten muttered. "But even some prisons have windows. I feel like I'm just going to fade away in this steel box. A door, even a locked one, would be nice. It would let me prove to myself that we aren't _completely_ isolated from civilization. Morgan really didn't want to give us any way of escaping, huh?"

Claus nodded.

"Psionics are notoriously bad at dealing with metal," the ginger said, "But you probably knew that. You tend to know things."

Ninten looked into Claus' eyes, reading the unspoken question: _How do you know so many things?_

"My father is… strict," Ninten said. "And he made sure that I learned about everything. Math, science, history, psionics, art… although not so much the last one. He even taught me how to fight."

"Sounds kind of like my dad," Claus said. "At least, my dad before he went crazy."

"Wait, what?" Ninten said.

Claus huffed.

"I guess I can tell you," he said. "After all, we don't know when Morgan's going to be back with some sort of torture planned."

"I don't know if she _will_ be back," Ninten said. "I think she would love to watch us wither away."

"She will come," Claus said, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. "She does not seem like the type to find joy in exploiting loopholes. She will play a fair game, Ninten. That game just requires a little preparation."

"How are you so sure?" Ninten asked.

"I just am."

"Well, that makes me feel _really_ confident," Ninten said.

"You don't have to be confident, but it will happen," Claus said.

Ninten sighed. He was too sick of his mother's baseless superstitions to take Claus' instincts seriously.

"Now," Claus said. "Should I tell you about my dad, or do you want to talk about something else? We could go into your self-pity session that lasted two days…"

Ninten scowled.

"I think that was called for," he said. "It's important to be ridiculously emotional at times. I wasted two days in a state of complete guilt over killing Boras, which shows how much I care. Now that I'm done being useless, the fact that I care will push me to create practical solutions. It's all part of a process."

"…Or you're just crazy," Claus said.

"Is that _humor_ I hear coming from you?" Ninten asked.

"I guess you're rubbing off on me," Claus said with a mock scowl. "Stop it."

"Stop rubbing off on you?" Ninten asked. "Because I can _definitely_ control…"

"It was a joke," Claus said.

"And I was following up on the joke," Ninten replied. "Man, you really suck at humor."

"Thanks," Claus muttered.

"You're welcome!" Ninten replied in a sweet voice.

"…You're obnoxious."

"I strive to be."

Claus sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I don't know how I managed to stand being in the same room with you for three days," Claus said. "At least, I _think_ it's been three days. It's impossible to tell in this room."

"No kidding," Ninten said. "My circadian rhythms are getting all messed up."

"Your what?"

"Never mind," Ninten said. "Let's go back to your dad, all right? I mean, we have nothing better to talk about."

"Are you _sure_ that you don't want to talk about your self-pity session?" Claus asked with a smirk. "You seem to have so much to say…"

"How about your father?" Ninten asked again.

Claus laughed.

"Sure, all right…" he said. '"So. My dad."

"I really like this introduction," Ninten said, unable to keep from smiling.

"Shut up," Claus said with a scowl. "I don't know if you've figured this out, but I grew up on Aphrodite."

"I guessed as much," Ninten said, remembering how long it took to get credible information about Aphrodite's destruction all the way out in rural America. "How was it there?"

"I loved it at the time," Claus said, surveying all of the painted portraits in the steel cube that he and Ninten were trapped in. "Now… I don't know. It seemed like everyone there was running. Running from Vulcan, running from Ceres. Running from psionics. But that's a different story. I lived in a town called Tazmily, filled with a standard assortment of brightly colored birds and lotus trees. My dad was considered the most level-headed out of everyone. He even became the mayor."

"But then he went crazy?" Ninten asked.

"Yeah," Claus said. "Before that, he was… dependable. Not always there emotionally, but always there physically. While he couldn't make people feel comforted, he could make them feel safe."

"Those are… an interesting couple of traits," Ninten said.

"I know," Claus said. "I still don't know how to judge him. At least my mom addressed our emotions well. It was a good combination."

"Our?" Ninten asked. "Who else lived with you?"

"Oh, right," Claus said. "I never told you. I have a brother named Lucas."

"You _have_ a brother?" Ninten asked. "So he didn't die in the explosion?"

"Yeah," Claus said. "Us, Duster, and Kumatora…"

"Wait, _Duster_ is from Aphrodite?" Ninten asked.

"Yep," Claus said. "Really, I thought that you would have put that all together by now. Anyways, I think that we're the only four. I didn't know that Duster and Kuma made it until I saw them during the starmen attack."

"So what happened to your brother?" Ninten asked. "I mean, he's not with you, so…?"

"I think he's here on Vulcan, actually," Claus said with a frown. "I made it my goal to try to kill him. That's why I came over here."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second," Ninten said. "You're trying to _kill_ him?"

"I _was_ trying to kill him," Claus said. "Now? I dunno."

Ninten blinked. He had gone through three months of Claus saying basically nothing about his personal life, and now _this?_

"Why would you try to kill your brother?" Ninten asked. "I mean, one of my sisters is obnoxious, but I would never want to _kill_ her."

"I'm scared of him," Claus said with a shrug. "And he deserves to be killed. I don't mean it in a bad way. We both deserve death, I think. We weren't supposed to survive the bombing two years ago."

"That's… a little crazy."

"So are you," Claus said with a smile. "And you admit it. That's what I respect about you."

"This is crazy in a completely different way!" Ninten exclaimed. "I mean, sure I'm kind of an asshole…"

"Which you always say but isn't really true," Claus muttered.

"AHEM," Ninten said. "While I may be kind of an asshole, I don't make plans that involve killing my family, even if I don't really like them. There's a difference between quirky and insane."

"So I'm insane?" Claus asked with a smile.

"I would say so, yeah!" Ninten exclaimed.

"At least you're honest," Claus said, rolling his head around and cracking his neck with a grin. "Everyone else would try to make up some half-assed excuse. I've heard plenty." His face darkened. "But like I said, he deserves it. Not in a bad way, either. I hear that death is pretty restful."

 _I can't believe what I'm hearing,_ Ninten thought.

"Now, back to my dad…" Claus said.

 _Divine Rulers,_ Ninten thought. _He wants to drop the subject right here._

"Uh… can we talk some more about that thing with you wanting to kill your brother?" Ninten asked. "Because that's not normal."

"I'm not a normal person," Claus said. "So no. As I was saying, my mom was there for us emotionally, and my dad kept us physically safe. People in Tazmily said that we had a perfect family. Even before the… incident, I'm not sure if that was really true."

Ninten opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm getting to the incident," Claus said with a smirk. "I'm not sure if you know this, but starman attacks were pretty common on Aphrodite. I don't know why. I mean, I know that Ceres has a dome to keep everything out, but Earth doesn't. The starmen don't land _there_ every year, at least from what I hear. Anyways, the starmen killed my mom during one of the attacks. That was four years ago."

"Divine Rulers," Ninten said, putting a hand over his heart. "I'm… sorry."

"It's okay," Claus said. "It was a long time ago, anyway."

 _Uh… Time doesn't always make those things better,_ Ninten thought. _Especially when people expect you to grow up and nobody's there to help._

"That's not the part that tore our family apart," Claus said. "You see, the starmen manipulated a knife with their psychokinetics to stab my mom. Do you know how often that happens?"

"Pretty much never," Ninten said.

"Right," Claus replied. "So naturally, when my dad came storming in, he thought that a human killed her. And… I was the one standing closest to the knife that stabbed her."

"He thought that you did it," Ninten said, a chill running down his spine.

"Yep," Claus said. "So he tried to kill me. My friend's dad had to knock him out with a 2x4. After that, there was always an unspoken threat between us. We knew that if things turned sour, we would pull swords on each other. It broke him, I think. He became worst mayor possible after that. Eventually, a fascist group called the pigmasks basically took over peacefully and executed him."

"That… doesn't sound peaceful," Ninten said.

"By their standards it was," Claus said. "But then the bombs fell and everyone died. So I guess it didn't really matter.

"Uplifting story," Ninten said.

"That's kind of how life goes," Claus said with a shrug. "Most of it is pretty shitty."

Ninten yawned. How long had it been since he had slept?

"This place is so _boring,_ " Ninten said, not wanting to respond to that statement. "All that we have to look at are these stupid paintings."

Ninten called them stupid, but they _did_ look well made. They were painted in the more classical style that involved precise lines and shapes. He supposed that the attention to fine detail made that style a better fit for portraits.

"You say that right after I tell you a story that involves a planet blowing up," Claus said, shaking his head. He walked over to one of the paintings that depicted a boy. "This one kind of looks like you."

 _…He shared his story with me,_ Ninten thought. _I guess I should be honest with him._

"I think that _is_ me," Ninten said. "And those ones right next to it are my sisters."

"What?" Claus asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "But this is Morgan's steel cube. Why would she have pictures of you?"

"Er…"

"Spill it out, Ninten. It's obvious that you're hiding something from me."

"We're related," Ninten said.

Claus blinked.

"She's my dad's cousin," Ninten explained.

"But… she's Emperor George's granddaughter, right? Wouldn't that make you…?"

"His great-grandson? Yeah."

"You're kidding, right?" Claus asked. "I mean, _you_ of all people-"

"Yeah, I know," Ninten said. "I'm a vulgar asshole, so there's no way that I could be related so someone so politically powerful."

"I wasn't talking about that," Claus said. "I would just think that you would flaunt a blood relation to the emperor."

"Actually, I think that we have different blood types," Ninten said.

Claus scowled.

"All right, all right," Ninten said. "I get what you mean. But why would I take pride in being related to the guy who went insane and murdered his wife? It makes no psyching sense."

"That's… actually a good point," Claus said. "I was wondering why you Earth people tend to worship him. For some reason, we never really talked about him on Aphrodite. I guess we were kind of living in our own little world."

"Yeah," Ninten said. "And I also don't want people bowing to me or any crazy shit like that. Can you imagine how awful that would be?"

"I would be entertained to see your reaction, if that counts," Claus said with a grin.

"Hmph," Ninten said. "I don't want to talk about that any longer. My relatives make me feel nauseous."

"Hey, wait," Claus said. "That means that Boras was your great-uncle, right?"

"I said that I don't want to talk about my relationship with my extended family," Ninten said.

"Actually, you didn't really say that," Claus replied. "Man, you killed your great-uncle. No wonder you were bawling in a corner for two days."

" _This_ is why I don't tell people who my family members are," Ninten said with a scowl. "I felt horrible because I killed a genuinely good person. The fact that he's my great-uncle is irrelevant."

"I get that," Claus said, dropping his smile. "On Aphrodite, there is no greater sin than matricide. Killing your dad is better; killing your entire psyching village except for your mom is better. It's stupid."

Ninten nodded. Aphrodite was famous for its traditional rather than logical stance on laws.

"So, do you recognize the people in these paintings?" Claus asked.

"Yeah," Ninten said, pointing to a portrait of a middle-aged woman. "That one's Morgan."

"I couldn't tell," Claus said sarcastically. "It's not like we saw her three days ago or anything like that.

"Happy to help," Ninten chirped. "Yeah, I recognize everyone except for that guy."

Ninten pointed to a painting of a man who looked like a version of him that was ten years older. Just like the rest of the Lorunes, he possessed sleek, black hair and charcoal eyes. What had struck Ninten when he had first seen the painting was the fact that this mystery man wore a knowing smile and seemed to gaze into the viewer's soul.

"That guy looks like you too," Claus said. "Maybe someone travelled to the future and painted you."

"He looks even more insufferable than I do," Ninten muttered.

"He does look a little pretentious," Claus said.

"I wonder who he is," Ninten said. "I thought that my dad told me about everyone in the family, but I guess not. Although if this guy acts as cocky as he looks, I guess I can't blame him."

"So, I finally decided what to do with you two," came a falsely sweet voice from behind Ninten.

He didn't have to turn around to know that it belonged to Morgan Lorune.

"So you finally decide to check on us, huh?" Ninten asked.

" _You_ do not get to be mouthy," Morgan said. "I mean, I wasn't the one who murdered an innocent person."

"I'm sure that you have before," Ninten muttered. "You're just the type."

Ninten finally turned to look at her. Morgan seemed back to her normal self, showing no signs of grief or sorrow. She didn't even seem fazed by Ninten's comment. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Instead of talking about who murdered who…" Claus said.

 _Who murdered whom,_ Ninten corrected in his head.

"…Maybe instead we should get to the point. I don't know about me, Ninten, but this place doesn't really excite me. I'd rather get out, if that's what Morgan has planned."

 _Oh yeah,_ Ninten thought. _Like this is all my fault._

"Well, at least one of you here is smart," Morgan said with a patronizing smile.

Claus growled, likely remembering when the slaver Alsom Garrickson had uttered those exact words to him during the starman attack. Claus had decided to let the slaver capture Ness, a decision that he later overrode when he turned his sword on Garrickson. Morgan _couldn't_ have known about that, right? It had to be just a coincidence.

"So how are you two liking this place?" Morgan asked. "A nice steel box with few decorations goes a long way to give you some perspective."

"It was hard to sleep," Ninten said.

"Ah, of course you would concern yourself with something like that," Morgan said, waving her hand dismissively. "At least you're still able to sleep, _unlike my father._ "

 _He's sleeping in a way,_ Ninten thought. Looking at Morgan's scowl, he decided not to voice his mind.

"I'm sorry that I killed him," Ninten said with an apologetic shrug. "There's not much more that I can do about it at this point."

"You could join the empirists," Morgan said. "Although… that probably wouldn't work, not now. Can you imagine what people would say if we 'found' the lost heir to the throne right after our leader died? They would think that we were lying out of desperation."

"Wouldn't Ninten's father be the heir?" Claus asked.

"Teddy doesn't have psionic powers," Morgan said. "It immediately disqualifies him."

"…I'm starting to see why the Aphroditian colonists hated psionics so much," Claus said.

"Uh… Morgan?" Ninten said. "It's cool if you keep wanting to talk about this, but…" Ninten flinched as her eyes turned on him. "Didn't you say that you wanted to do something with us?"

"Yeah," she said. "As soon as _he_ arrives…"

Morgan trailed off, leaving all three of them to stand in silence. Ninten and Morgan sized each other up like it was some sort of contest. Looking at Morgan, Ninten still remembered her crazed face when she nearly killed him three days ago. Maybe he deserved to die for killing Boras, but he couldn't stop himself from hating Morgan.

Ninten could tell that she felt even more negatively about him. As the minutes dragged on, both of them started to glare at each other. Ninten could almost _feel_ the tension in the air.

"Nice family, huh?" Claus asked quietly.

Morgan's gaze fell on him in an instant. To his credit, Claus didn't flinch.

"You can kill me if you want to," Claus whispered. "I don't have much more to live for."

More silence.

After what felt like hours, another person teleported in. His bald head reflected the purple light that the psionic stones produced. His skin showed minor signs of wrinkling, although most of it was covered up by a lab coat. He stuffed some sort of two-pronged device in his pocket.

"Well!" he said, clapping his hands together and smiling. "What do we have here?"

"You're late, Pan," Morgan said.

 _Pan?_ Ninten thought. _I recognize this man from book covers, and I've never heard him go by that name before._

 _I've only heard him go by Dr. Andonuts._

"Uh… who are you?" Claus asked.

"Ah, yes, I should introduce myself!" Dr. Andonuts exclaimed. "The name's Pan Andonuts. Morgan said that you two are students at the Ceres school, yes? You probably know my son Jeff."

 _So cheery,_ Ninten thought. _Why does that bug me so much?_

"Wait," Claus said. "You're Jeff's father? But you're…"

"Old?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "It's quite all right to say that. I suppose that I am old, but I'm young at my core." Dr. Andonuts put a hand over his heart, shaking his head with a sigh.

"…"

"Okay, okay," Dr. Andonuts said with an uncomfortable chuckle. "It seems like you don't appreciate my sense of humor. That's quite all right as well. I _am_ old, but old people can still have children."

"How old _are_ you?" Claus asked.

"64?" Dr. Andonuts said, cocking his head. "65? 66? Oh my, I can't keep track. Hmm, what day was I born on? I simply can't remember."

"Stop fraternizing with them, Pan," Morgan snapped.

"Ah, you're no fun," Dr. Andonuts said, winking at Ninten and Claus.

 _Could this get any weirder?_ Ninten thought. _I wonder if this is a hallucination that Morgan's subjecting us to._

"I don't want to be fun," Morgan said. "Because _you_ always have too much fun."

"Guilty as charged," Dr. Andonuts said, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"Stop it, Pan! This is serious!"

"Uh…" Claus said. "Do you two know each other?"

"Nope!" Dr. Andonuts said. "We're complete strangers."

"Yes, we know each other quite well," Morgan said, glaring at Dr. Andonuts. "A little _too_ well, I might add."

"Now Morgan," Dr. Andonuts said. "That just broke my little heart in two. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I told you to psyching stop it!" Morgan shouted, balling her hands into fists. "This is for father!"

"All right," Dr. Andonuts said with a sigh. "I'll get _somewhat_ serious."

"Why are you even here?" Ninten asked.

"Because Morgan here was brainstorming ideas for what to do with you," Dr. Andonuts said. "Naturally, I don't want to hurt you, being Jeff's classmates and all, but Morgan wanted to do something nasty to you. Now, I can't use psionics-"

"You can't?" Claus asked. "Then how did you get in here? There are literally no doors."

"I teleported in here by using a device," Dr. Andonuts thing. "I invent stuff like that. It's a hobby of mine."

 _It's a "hobby" that's made you millions of dollars,_ Ninten thought.

"Anyways," Dr. Andonuts continued. "I can't use psionics, so Morgan can basically do whatever she wants with you and I won't be able to lift a finger, right? So I decided to come up with a plan that would keep you two intact and also satisfy her needs."

"Uh… okay," Ninten said. "So what's this ingenious plan?"

"We're going to stick you in a psionic stone mine and watch as you struggle to find your way out."

Claus' face paled.

" _That's_ your plan?" he said to Dr. Andonuts. "One of the mines?"

"I know," Dr. Andonuts with a sigh. "I wanted to go with something more generous, but Morgan is a harsh lady. And like I said, she's the one with the big guns."

Morgan flashed a vicious smile, pulling out Dynaldas. She had stolen the knife from Ninten right after putting him in a cube three days ago. Ninten ignored the taunt.

"What's so bad about the mines?" Ninten asked.

"Let's just say that the psionic stone mines on Vulcan make the rest of the place seem like a psyching utopia," Claus said.

 _That doesn't sound good,_ Ninten thought.

"Ninten here needs to see the truth," Morgan said. "If he only knew how bad things really were on Vulcan, he would convert to empirism."

 _I see proof of the contrary right next to me,_ Ninten thought, looking at Claus.

"So what happens if we escape the mine?" Claus asked. "Will you let us go free?"

"Maybe," Morgan said teasingly, waving Dynaldas in front of Ninten's face.

"So you lead us on with false hope," Claus muttered.

"But we don't really have a choice but to follow," Ninten said.

"Exactly," Morgan said, flashing a toothy smile. "Not killing people is more fun than I would have thought."

 _Was she always this sadistic?_ Ninten thought. _She seems more like the jaded type, and when we first met her she seemed racked with grief rather than excited at the prospect at hurting others._

"Don't worry too much," Dr. Andonuts said. "We'll find a way to make this work. I'm on your side."

"Uh… thanks?" Claus said.

"So it's everyone against me, huh?" Morgan asked, her teeth reflecting the purple light from the crystals. "We'll see how this turns out."

 _Great,_ Ninten thought. _Now we've got her fired up._

"Well," Dr. Andonuts said. "I think it's time to say goodbye to this room with its ugly walls and uglier paintings… except for yours, Morgan. You look beautiful."

Morgan scowled, opening and closing her mouth without finding anything to say.

"Well, I'm ready to go," Ninten said. He looked over at Claus, whose face was still pale. "Are you ready?"

"…Yeah," he said with a weak smile. "Just… bracing myself."

 _Geez,_ Ninten thought. _Are the mines that bad? I've never seen Claus this shaken._

"Teleport," Morgan said.

* * *

The first thing that Ninten noticed about the place that Morgan had taken him to was the pitch black. There could have been a boulder in front of him and he wouldn't have seen it. Ninten's heart started pounding. _Anything_ could happen to him and he wouldn't know until it was too late.

The second thing that Ninten noticed was the stench. It smelled like a mix between rotting eggs and rotting corpses. Ninten gagged, trying not to throw up.

The third thing that Ninten noticed was the fact that his sinuses were burning. It felt like having lava inserted up his nose. Not that he would _really_ know what that felt like, but he figured that it couldn't be much worse than this.

 _Man,_ Ninten thought. _This place is going to take a while to get used to._

"My light," Claus whispered, his voice uncharacteristically shaky.

Ninten squinted his eyes at the sudden stream of light that sprouted from Claus' eyes, illuminating the cave. Only a few feet behind him lay a dead end, meaning that the path in front of him was the only way out. Claus' light captured Morgan and Dr. Andonuts, who stood only a few feet in front of the teenagers.

"Nice place, isn't it?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "Ah, who am I kidding? This isn't the time for humor. You two _should_ be able to make it out of this place alive."

"You never know, though…" Morgan said. "These mines can be pretty dangerous, since the corporations who mine these psionic stones don't really care about the lives of their workers. Hmm… maybe we need someone to change that. Oh wait, somebody tried. And you _murdered_ him, Ninten."

 _I get the point,_ Ninten thought, his burning sinuses starting to give him a headache. _Geez, this place really is bad._

"Now, we'll be off," Morgan said with a cold smile. "I hope you die down here, Ninten. I never should have let my father convince me to make that stupid oath. But I _do_ genuinely think that you'll survive. See you."

Morgan whispered a word, made some hand motions, and disappeared with Dr. Andonuts.

"Nghh," Ninten said, grabbing his head. "This headache is killing me."

"Well, you haven't passed out yet," Claus said. "That's a good sign."

Ninten chuckled and then stopped when he realized that Claus wasn't joking.

"Most people pass out their first time," Claus said with a weak smile. "I did."

"Pass out… from the pain?" Ninten asked, feeling his head pound harder and harder.

"Yeah," Claus answered. "Not a whole lot you can do about it. You'll get used to it, although it kind of messes up your sinuses. And I've learned firsthand that when your sinuses don't work, your air filtering systems aren't as good. So you're breathing in more toxic chemicals. That's the point where most people start to die, but your psionics will let you live. I think that our face masks will help a lot as well."

"Joy," Ninten said. "I honestly almost want that to happen right now so that this headache goes away."

"Like I said, you'll survive," Claus said.

"That's the first time I've heard that phrase used when death is quite possible," Ninten said, trying to focus on the pathway in front of him. Both his headache and the general absence of light made it difficult. "I guess we should go down there, huh?"

"Guess so," Claus said, and started walking forward.

Ninten stumbled after, trying not to bang his head on the jagged ceiling _too_ many times as the world continued to swirl around him.


	3. Chapter 2: Empirist or Cultist

**Hey guys! :D Here I am with the next chapter (singular) of this story after a while of not updating. I'm going to try to update every Friday. Let's see how that goes.**

 **Anyways, like most books, I'm not picking up right where I left off. There's a bunch of boring stuff that I skipped. Basically, Ness and Ana get sent on a boring grunt mission to check up on a village and gather info about stuff in general but something bad happens (I bet you never could have guessed). Anyways, this chapter takes place in that village. I make that pretty clear in my writing, but just in case some of you guys don't read a lot of sequels and would be surprised by this...**

 **And I'm starting to understand why so many books have monsters and stuff as antagonists. Having to add in human antagonists makes things that much more confusing. Readers aren't likely to get mixed up between a dragon and a human character. xD**

 **...In case you missed the implication, there are new characters in this chapter. Yes, "characters" with an "s."**

 **Well, onto the** **reviews responses** **!**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** Where I live, we have since gotten snow. We even got a day off of school. It was glorious. :D Ah, it's okay. When I'm reviewing, I sometimes have chapters like that, where I'm like "All of this stuff is happening, but I have nothing to say about any of it." Yeah, these aren't the chimeras talked about in everyday life. In fact, they're not even really chimeras. :x But we have bad names for things IRL, so I don't feel too bad about this. xD And yep; good catch! Don't worry about pointing out where it is. I can find it easily with control-f. And hey, there's nothing wrong with swearing in your head! Everyone has dark thoughts (I'm sure that we've both thought about something much worse than swearing before).

I believe that I only changed book 1's summary 3247.87 times. Please check your facts next time. ;) And thanks! It took me so much work to steal-er... _borrow_ it from google images. :D And yeah, steel boxes aren't fun. D: And this box literally has no doors, so no risk of you stepping out. It can only be accessed through teleportation. Really? I though that it would be expected that the main leader of the "bad guys" dies at the end of the first book. Circadian rhythms... basically, your biological clock. It tells you how long to sleep and stay awake and stuff based on natural cues such as sunlight. And thanks again! :D I wouldn't have included the guy who looked like Ninten if he wasn't important. ;) Yeah, Ninten's clueless. Claus has been down there before, though. He knows stuff.

 **Shimo no ko:** Heh, wouldn't be the first time that I pulled that role reversal card. :) And that's not you being nit-picky. That's me being really dumb. Thanks for the catch! :D

 **Crabby Tomato:** Yeah, I meant like GRRM with politics and stuff. xD He spends so much time on that stuff. Well, her appearance making her weak moment more powerful was the goal, so I'm glad that you found it to be that way! :) Ah yeah, damage control _is_ super messy. But I actually like writing about that stuff. It's so tricky and nuanced that it's interesting to me. But I would never never never want to be a politician. My job is to raise the questions, not find the answers. Yep, more on Claus later. His character in the next Ninten chapter took a different direction from what I planned. I know, right? My favorite author advocates revealing a lot of stuff early on and just coming up with extra stuff to reveal later. I'm trying to do that more this book. No more 12 chapters sitting around basking in slowly forming mysteries! :D Well, I wanted to keep with the pattern with some of my OC names (in case you didn't notice, Minerva, Diana, Juno, Pan, and Apollo are all greek/roman god names. Oh, and so are Ceres, Vulcan, and Aphrodite). And no, Dr. Andonuts was not flirting with Morgan. O.O I totally see how it could be taken that way, though! I should probably address that sometime. xD

 **A Fan:** Well, they just don't like each other very much. I don't think that anyone can say that they've never enjoyed seeing someone that they despise suffer mildly. It's not right, but it's totally normal. Ah, that part was supposed to be mumbo-jumbo at this point. I know, right? xD As an author, I have to make bad things happen. Any attempt from my characters to stop it is MEANINGLESS! And Megan could probably see Minerva's shiver, but either she wasn't really paying attention (plausible) or she just didn't comment on it. I mean, she's not going to be like "WHY DID YOU SHIVER?" xD Does Minerva know about Claus' thingy that somehow prevented him from the orb's influence? Maybe. :) Yeah, Ana was more scared of the "You do what I say or I kill you in front of your parents" thing. And because Ana's kind of a control freak, she worries a lot because Minerva has pretty complete power over her. And I think that Minerva's just a little freaked by everything that's happening. :)

Remember, the deal was between Minerva and Ana, so the DC;AA thing doesn't really match up. :) Remember when Morgan teleported Claus and Ninten away that she didn't say? That place was the steel box, where she kept them for three days so that she could have more time to decide what to do with them. And Lucas being trapped in Magicant doesn't mean that his body can't act. :) And breaking the atmosphere was kinda the point. I already showed scary Morgan in previous chapters, so doing that again would be a little silly. Having Dr. Andonuts show up actually does a lot of things besides comic relief, such as:

-Reveals a connection between him and Morgan

-Explains his character to both the reader and the protags

-Helps to bring out Morgan's character by showing a new side to her: the control freak. Whenever Dr. Andonuts cuts in, we can see that it really bugs Morgan because she wants to control everything. It also reveals how she likes to play the victim when Dr. Andonuts announces his support for Ninten and Claus.

Down as in down the tunnel. They're not actually descending. :P OR MAYBE THEY ARE! ...They're not. xD I probably should have made that more clear. This is what peer reviews are for! :D And that's a good question. Why _wasn't_ Dr. Andonuts affected, hmm? :) Claus said that most people pass out their first time. Miners can resist it eventually and work for a few years before the gases kill them. At that point, the companies can just hire more workers... although that's not exactly how the system works. More on that later.

 **DarkFoxKit:** Well, I think that pretty much everything about Ninten was revealed before then, but I did decide that it was a good idea to bring light to some of Claus' backstory. I realized that I revealed _way_ too little info in the first book, so I'm going to try to right that this time around. :) Yeah, I think that you did influence me a bit! To be honest, I mostly based Ness' character in TD after Ninten in this story but happier, but some of that did rub back the other way I think. See you later! :D

* * *

"Thank you again for letting us stay in your house," Ness said. "We weren't planning to stay here for this long, but with everything that's happened…"

The woman in front of Ness nodded. Her hard features made Ness feel uncomfortable, but she always spoke kindly to him. She called herself Raven, but Ness wasn't sure if that was her real name. Raven's house seemed to share her personality: the immovable stone benches and tables appeared utilitarian and cold, yet something about them was oddly welcoming.

"Again, happy to help," Raven said. "Especially since you're trying to deal with the cultists in this little village of ours."

"Cultists?" Ness exclaimed, his voice cracking. "Not… empirists?"

 _They're dangerous no matter who they are,_ Ness thought. _I wonder why Secretary Monotoli didn't send any adult psions with us, even if this was just supposed to be a reconnaissance mission._

"It's hard to tell the difference between the two, these days," Raven said, shaking her head. "This village used to be pretty normal, you know."

Ness nodded.

"And it's not what you're thinking, either," Raven continued. "This village was normal by Earth standards. It wasn't the footage of Vulcan that you see on your fancy televisions. We didn't work in factories. We knew each other. We lived good lives, all things considered. Sure, the pollution caused problems, but it's not even that bad over here. You can take that face mask off, you know. You won't get lung cancer from breathing this air."

Ness blushed, taking his face mask off and setting it gingerly on a stone bench. He took a breath of unfiltered air, finding it surprisingly clean.

"…Sorry," Ness said. "I didn't know."

"About the face mask or our standard of living?" Raven asked.

"Both."

"No need to apologize for either," Raven said with a smile that looked oddly natural. "You know only what the media tells you. I used to work for a news company; I should know."

At that moment, two children walked into the room. Ness assumed that they were Raven's son and daughter, but he saw no sign of a father. Like Raven, they both possessed black hair, black eyes, and bulky limbs. Besides the last part, they didn't look so different from Ness.

"Mom," the girl whispered, looking down at the floor. She looked about ten. "I heard that Frank is going to begin the execution in an hour."

Ness struggled not to barf. Cultists… an execution… Vulcan… It all reminded Ness of his past.

"I can't believe how many people are listening to that idiot," Raven muttered, shaking her head. Turning to Ness, "Frank Fly isn't native to this village; he came here a couple years ago. Ever since then, he's been trying to convert people over to empirism. It started to corrupt people… people who I knew. I hardly recognize them anymore."

 _Was that how it happened to Carpainter's cultists?_ Ness wondered. _The must have started out as normal people, right?_

That made Ness feel even guiltier for killing so many of them.

"Will we be all right, mom?" The boy asked, his voice shaking. He clung to his older sister, reminding Ness of himself. "Frank won't hurt us, will he?"

"No, he won't," Raven said, her eyes sad and her voice calm. "Frank only hurts people who he thinks come from Ceres."

"But nobody here comes from Ceres!" the boy exclaimed. "Ceres is filled with bad people. We're not bad!"

 _Geez,_ Ness thought, unable to keep from flinching. _Do people on Vulcan really hate Ceres so much?_

"I know we aren't," Raven said, stroking the boy's cheek. "But Frank is… a little confused."

"You would think that he would know," the girl said, her eyes narrowing in disgust. "We've all been here for years. Why does nobody else see that all of us are Vulcanese? His group chased off Rita and Bill just a few days ago, and they've been living here for twenty years!"

Raven bit her lip.

"I don't know, sweetie," she whispered. "I don't know."

 _All right,_ Ness thought. _THIS is what I have to stop. It's my duty as a psion to make sure that Frank doesn't cause any more harm._

"You come from a Ceres strike force, right?" Raven asked Ness, furrowing her eyebrows. "Sorry about what my children say about your planet. We… aren't too fond of Ceres here on Vulcan."

"It's okay!" Ness exclaimed, feeling himself blush. "I mean, I actually come from Earth, so…"

The children's eyes lit up.

"Whoa!" the boy said. "That's awesome! Don't you have forests on Earth? I saw a picture of a forest in a book. It said that there are trees so big that even if you cut them down and lay them on their side they'd still be taller than you."

"Uh…" Ness said. "You mean trees that are wider than a person is tall? We don't have any trees like that in Eagleland. I mean, we have trees, but they're not that big. Maybe in America, though… you can ask Ana when she comes back. I think she's still out gathering information about Frank Fly."

"What about dogs?" the girl asked. "I heard that people on Earth can even train dogs to do tricks. Is that true?"

"Now, now," Raven said with an exhausted smile. "I don't think that our guest wants you to pester him with questions."

"No, it's fine!" Ness insisted. "I really don't have anything better to do until Ana gets back."

"Which is now," Ana asked, walking into the room. "Missed me?"

Ness' heart skipped a beat as she flashed him a smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

 _Gah!_ Ness thought. _Why do I always have to be so awkward?_

"Good to see you too, Ness," she said with a smirk. "And hey, Raven! How are you doing?"

"Same as the last time you asked," Raven said with a snort. "Tired. Tired and worried."

Ana nodded as if nothing were wrong and then turned to Raven's children.

"Have you two been watching over Ness?" she asked in a mother-like tone. Apparently Ana did well with kids. Why was she so good at _everything?_

"They've been distracting him with questions ever since they came in," Raven said.

"Which was only two minutes ago!" The girl added.

Ana laughed.

"Well, good for you," she said. Turning to Ness and Raven, "Anyways, I found out more information about the boy who Fly's going to execute. His name is Lloyd and he's an orphan from the city who just happened to wander here. That's why Fly can justify saying that he's not from Vulcan. Didn't you say that people in this village distrust outsiders, Raven?"

"Yes," Raven muttered grimly. " _Most_ outsiders, at least. We should have kicked Frank out a long time ago."

"We probably won't have the support of the villagers," Ana said, "Since even the people who despise Fly probably don't care about a random orphan from the city. At best, they'll be disturbed by the precedent, but I don't think that anyone except for Raven will help us. I filed a report to Secretary Monotoli about this, but I don't think that he'll respond quickly enough if we want to save Lloyd." She looked Ness in the eye. "Fly's going to begin the execution soon. I think that it will be easiest to try to stop him up on the stage, but it's risky."

"Do you… really think that we should try that?" Ness asked.

"If we go after him now, we'll have to get past his guards first," Ana said. "And if he sees us coming after him, he'll probably kill the captive in his dying breath."

Ness shivered. He certainly didn't want _that,_ but…

"All right," he said, unable to keep the unease out of his voice. "We can do that."

"We don't have to if you can think of a better idea," Ana said. "I'm all ears."

"…It's fine," Ness said.

"Are you feeling that I'm pressuring you to do something dangerous?" Ana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!" Ness exclaimed, waving his hands in denial. "Not at all! I really am fine. I'm just… sad that it has to come to this."

Ana sighed, her face turning somber. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes

"I know what you mean," she whispered. She opened her eyes, looking at Ness with a sad smile. "If you want, you can sit this one out. We're not really supposed to do this in the first place and I know that this can't feel good for you."

"I'm in," Ness said without hesitation. "I know that we're not supposed to do this without authorization, but I can't sit back and watch as cultists kill an innocent person. I _can't._ "

"Oh, right," Ana whispered. "You were in that exact position, weren't you? As someone who was going to be…" Ana trailed off, cringing in empathy.

Ness closed his eyes. He could still _see_ the zeal in the crowd's eyes. He could still _hear_ the screams. He could still _feel_ the overwhelming terror of having to face so many people who would cheer at his death.

And then, a twang. The executioner dropping. Surprisingly little blood.

His escape.

Ness opened his eyes, feeling too ashamed to look at Ana. He had been so _helpless._ If Diana Carpainter hadn't come in and saved him, he wouldn't be here today.

"What's this?" Raven asked. "You had a run in with cultists?"

"Carpainter's," Ness whispered. "Barely managed to escape."

Raven's children gasped.

"Mommy," the boy said. "Those people were bad guys, right? Carpainter and his evil friends?"

"Yeah," Raven said, giving Ness a sympathetic wince. "Carpainter was about as nasty as they come. Are you sure that you can deal with another cultist group?"

"Another cultist group?" Ana asked. "So does Frank use religion as an excuse for what he does?"

"You could say that," Raven said. "Except that Giygas is his god."

Ana snorted.

"You mean the 'incomprehensible monster' that's used in stories to scare children?" Ana asked.

"Yeah," Raven said, rolling her eyes. "It's a little nuts. He says that the Osohe legends about Giygas are partially real, but that Giygas is a benevolent being who will free us all from the tyranny of Ceres."

 _Divine Rulers,_ Ness thought. _People actually believe that?_

"But Ness," Raven said, turning back to face him with a warm smile. "Don't feel like you have to face Frank. I might be a little scary, but I promise that I won't hurt you. There's no shame in staying behind, especially since meeting him might set off some painful memories."

Ness took a deep breath. He had to be strong, now!

"Thanks for your concern," Ness said, using every ounce of willpower to get the words out. "But I can do this. The whole reason that I came here was to face my past. For a long time, I've been useless. I basically _existed_ to be captured and rescued. I need to prove to myself that I'm not that person, that I can do something real."

"Yeah!" Raven's supposed daughter exclaimed. "You're not a princess in the tower from a fairy tale! You can do things for yourself. After all, you have PSI, right?"

"Yes I do," Ness said with a smile. "I have the tools to make a change, so I'm not going to sit around and wait to be captured again. Thanks for the support."

Raven's daughter beamed.

"I can empathize with that sentiment," Ana said with a smirk. "Ninten could taunt me into doing pretty much anything by calling me a princess. Mostly it was getting me to spar, since we were the only two kids in Podunk with any sort of training."

"Nice to see that both of you are on board," Raven said. "So how do you plan to get into the crowd without being noticed? Ness could pass for Vulcanese, but Ana…"

"I wore a cowl when I was out gathering info," Ana said. "Do you think that will work?"

"Hmm…" Raven said. "Yes, but any clothing that you have is probably nice enough to make you stand out. I can give you both ragged cloaks so that you'll blend in. That is, if you're willing."

"Of course," Ana said. "Most Vulcanese wear beaten-up clothing for most of their lives; I'm sure that Ness and I can wear some for less than an hour."

Raven smiled.

"Some Ceresians see it as an insult to their station," Raven said. "Glad to see that you aren't one of those. I'll get the cloaks right now."

"Thanks!" Ana said as Raven was walking out of the room. Turning back to Ness, "Now, we have a few minutes to kill. What should we do?"

"You could stay with us!" Raven's daughter suggested.

"I think that we should head over to the execution," Ness whispered. "Fly will have something set up, and we'll want to be there early to assess how our plan should work."

"True enough," Ana said with a grim smile. "I hope that this goes well. I don't think that I've had to rescue a civilian like this before."

"Yeah," Ness whispered. "This is new for me, too. This time, I'm not the one who needs to be saved. I just hope that I don't fail."

"Even if you flounder," Ana said, putting a hand on Ness' shoulder, "I'll be there to help you back up."

Ness took a deep breath, feeling stress and anxiety flow out of his system. He smiled at Ana. How could she always make him feel better so easily?

"Thanks," he said.

* * *

Ness stood in a crowd of empirist cultists, shivering despite the smoldering heat of midday on Vulcan. He reminded himself for the twentieth time that nobody would question him if he just kept his cloak on and didn't do anything suspicious. He glanced sideways, feeling the need to reaffirm Ana's presence. Honestly, he didn't know what he would do without her. When faced with an important decision on his own, Ness tended to just… freak out.

The crowd was packed tightly enough to make Ness feel genuinely afraid of being squished to death. A stray elbow bumped into Ness. He gritted his teeth, trying his best to ignore it.

Looking up at the stage, Ness saw the same scene as when he first arrived: a young, grey-haired boy with his hands tied to a pole back standing next to an executioner with a sword. Ana claimed that the executioner wasn't Frank Fly, but that didn't stop Ness from feeling the urge to vomit. That poor boy, standing up there friendless and alone, thinking that this hour would be his last!

Ness was going to make _sure_ that it wouldn't end that way.

 _"Ness,"_ Ana said telepathically. _"Here comes Frank."_

Ness gulped as Frank Fly walked onto the stage. With his red suit and greasy, blond hair, he didn't even look Vulcanese. The cultist twirled a knife around casually, walking up to the boy (presumably named Lloyd) with a sadistic grin.

"Do you see this freak?" Frank roared, throwing his arms outward to the crowd. "This child isn't natural. He's a Ceres-made chimera! Look at his grey hair. Do _real_ children have hair like that?"

"No!" The crowd shouted back.

 _"Ugh,"_ Ana said telepathically over the cheering. _"I can't stand these people."_

Lloyd looked disturbingly calm, almost resigned to his fate. He looked out across somberly the crowd that screamed curses at him. Upon looking at Ness, his head stopped turning and their eyes locked for a few seconds. Lloyd flashed a subtle smile.

 _W-What?_ Ness thought. _Does he… know me?_

"And," Frank continued, his voice booming across the square. "What do we do with chimeras? We…"

"Kill them!" the crowd finished.

 _Just like… before,_ Ness thought, finding himself gasping for breath despite his lack of exertion. _They'll follow everything that he says. This really is Carpainter all over again! Lloyd must be scared out of his wits by now. I know how it feels to be up on that stage, wondering why all these people who don't even know you despise you so much._

Ness shot a glance at Ana. She looked like a compressed spring, ready to leap into action.

"I'll let you do the honors, executioner," Frank said, motioning to the man next to him.

The executioner raised his sword.

 _"Let's go,"_ Ana said.

Before Ness could blink, the executioner dropped to the ground. The crowd roared in outrage.

 _"Wait,"_ Ana said, panic seeping into her telepathic voice. _"That should have taken out Fly, too! Why didn't it work?"_

Frank Fly walked towards Lloyd, twirling the knife around. His smile grew; he seemed unfazed by the death of his executioner. Ana slapped an ectoplasmic rapier in Ness' hands. Looking at her, Ness saw that she carried a massive axe that should have been reserved for barbarians.

 _Does she really know how to use that thing?_ Ness wondered.

"You!" one of the cultists in the crowd shouted, pointing at Ana. "Ceresian psion!"

He grabbed onto Ness' arm, his eyes alight with flame. Ness gasped as Ana's axe took him in the chest.

"Here we go!" she shouted, grabbing onto Ness. "Blink!"

The world around Ness _shifted._ Instead of standing in the crowd, he found himself on the stage right in front of Lloyd.

 _"Heh,"_ Frank said telepathically, likely so that he could be heard over the roaring of the crowd. _"This will be fun."_

 _"He's a psion?"_ Ana asked. _"Psych it! I should have probed for mind shields earlier!"_

A blast of fire engulfed Frank Fly. Ness wasn't sure whether or not to be glad that the stage was made of stone and therefore couldn't burn. Ana used the fireball attack to cover her advance, lunging at Fly. Ness stood in wonder as Ana landed blow after blow on the cultist leader. Divine rulers, she was _good._ Ness remembered feeling awed by Ninten and Claus' sparring sessions back on Ceres, and Ana looked better than either of them.

 _Why does she have to be so perfect at everything?_

"A little help here?" Lloyd shouted, raising an eyebrow. "You _do_ mean to free me, yes?"

"Uh… yeah!" Ness said, blinking at the boy's nonchalant attitude. "Of course!"

"Then you might want to hurry up." Lloyd gestured towards Frank's followers; some of them were climbing on the stage.

Panic gripped Ness as he whipped out a knife. The rapier that Ana gave him would be no use for cutting Lloyd's bonds. Gingerly, he bent down and started to saw at the rope that bound the grey-haired boy to the pole.

"Don't want to alarm you," Lloyd said, "But you're running out of time."

Ness turned around and yelped upon seeing an angry mob rush towards him. Why couldn't he cut the rope any faster? Ness instinctually looked over to Ana for help. Frank now held an ectoplasmic longsword in his hands and used it to lash out at Ana between rounds of both of them slinging PK powers. Even though it looked like Ana was winning, she didn't have the spare time to assist Ness. He barely managed to turn back before the mob swarmed him.

Fists and feet slammed into Ness. He fell to the ground, telling himself not to panic, that this _wasn't_ the same as what happened two years ago. Ness looked up to see the mob beating Lloyd with their fists. He stretched his hand out towards Lloyd, but he couldn't reach far enough to accomplish anything.

 _Helpless._

Ness' eyes flashed to the past, when he faced a crowd made of unwavering hate two years ago. He shrunk back from the crowd's roar, unable to face the inexhaustible ill will that these people had for him. The crowd got louder and louder; Ness felt like he was suffocating. He turned to the old man next to him, hoping that he would show some mercy, but all that he got was a pair of fiery eyes and a creepy smile…

 _Why?_

His eyes jumped a few months forward. He was sitting on a couch, watching the television screen in front of him. Tracy had been moaning about how Ness was using up all of their household's psionic energy on the TV, but he couldn't care. He sat there, frozen as he saw footage of mysterious entities dropping nuclear bombs on Aphrodite. Those couldn't be… starmen, could they? Starmen were just made up by parents to scare children who wouldn't behave. But then Minerva Carpainter popped up onto the screen, saying that some aliens must have developed the technology needed to destroy a planet…

 _Why is there so much hate in this universe?_

Ness' eyes returned to the present. He could only comprehend the flashes of pain that came along with being stepped on.

 _Why?_

Ness was slowly being trampled to death by the mob. He flailed helplessly, knowing that his actions wouldn't accomplish anything. He was going to die right here! He had to fight back!

 _I promised myself that I would never kill another person again._

But he was going to die!

 _I made a promise._

For a brief second, those two parts of Ness' mind converged. He had to survive and protect Lloyd, but he wouldn't let himself kill another human being. Was there a way to do both?

Yes. There had to be.

 _Chaos creates order._

"PK Rockin," Ness whispered.

Even though he hadn't used the power in two years, he still heard the screams of the cultists that he had indirectly killed. Ness squeezed his eyes shut, but that only made the screams grow louder. Still, Ness _pushed_ through.

Today, he would protect rather than destroy.

Without really knowing what he was doing, Ness _altered_ the PK Rockin. He knew that it could be used to inflict damage with raw energy or control animated corpses, but Ness used the power in a subtler way. He filled the world with chaos.

Ness jumped to his feet to find the mob staggering around, trying to land punches on Lloyd yet somehow failing miserably. One by one, they started falling over, unable to maintain their balance.

 _I… messed with their minds, somehow,_ Ness thought, looking at the staggering cultists with wide eyes. _And now their coordination doesn't work. How much more can PK Rockin do?_

In a few seconds, the mob went from an army of zealots to a mess of bodies on the ground. Lloyd smiled, and only then did Ness notice the cluster of bruises that lined his skin.

"That was your doing, yes?" he asked Ness. "I did not know that you were a psion too."

"Yeah," Ness said, walking up to the boy. He tried not to step on any cultists. "Lifeup."

Lloyd groaned as the bruises disappeared from his body. He smirked at Ness, shaking his head.

"Thanks," he said. "We should get out of here, though. These madmen, though incapacitated, still have the potential to be dangerous."

Ness paused. Who _talked_ like that?

"What's that look for?" the boy asked. "We _do_ need to get moving."

"Er… right!" Ness said as he continued sawing off the Lloyd's bonds.

"Don't worry about accidentally cutting me," Lloyd said. "Just work as quickly as you can, please."

 _I'm trying, but I just can't bear the thought of accidently driving this knife into flesh!_ Ness thought with a shiver.

After what felt like hours, Ness finished cutting the rope. Lloyd shook his wrists as he stepped free of the pole.

"Thanks," he said. "Now let's get out of here. Do you know how to teleport?"

"Nope," Ness said. "I guess we're running."

"Guess so," Lloyd said with a smirk, looking out to the mob. Ness hadn't affected all of them with his PK Rockin, and some of the other cultists were starting to climb onto the execution stage. "We should probably start now."

 _But where to?_ Ness thought. _The mob has us surrounded._

"Here come some more of them," Lloyd said, holding up his arms defensively.

Ness turned to see an entire group of cultists climbing on the stage. It didn't take long for his panic to kick in at overdrive.

"PK Rockin," he whispered, throwing the approaching cultists off balance. "…Ugh. I think that I'm out of psionic energy. I guess that power is expensive."

"Already?" Lloyd asked. "Well that isn't good… Oh look, here _he_ comes."

Fear gripped Ness as he spotted Frank Fly charging towards the Lloyd. Ness held out his rapier, knowing that he couldn't _possibly_ hope to meet Frank's charge head on.

"Get back!" Ness shouted, jumping in front of Lloyd.

Right when Frank was about to reach Ness, Ana appeared right in front of him, bracing her axe for impact. Even with Frank's momentum from charging, Ana somehow managed to resist being knocked off balance when the two weapons collided. Frank's eyes bulged as Ana kicked him in the stomach, sending him staggering back. Ana slammed her axe into Frank's chest with a sickening crunch.

Frank chuckled, coughing up blood.

"Not… bad, for a girl," he wheezed. "Lifeu-"

Ana lunged forward, grabbing Frank's wrists. It was clear that Frank's psionic stall, a technique that allowed psions to delay damage, was the only thing keeping him alive. To use healing psionics, Frank had to both say the word and move his hands in a specific fashion. Ana was trying to prevent the latter by restraining his arms. It appeared to be working, as Ness could see Frank's life slowly draining away from him.

 _Should I help?_ Ness wondered, feeling useless as he watched Frank and Ana struggle. _There's not much that I can do…_

Ness' hesitation gave Frank Fly the extra seconds that he needed. The cultist leader slammed a knee into Ana's stomach, causing her to release her grip on him. He leapt back out of reach, wearing a triumphant smile.

"Almost… had me," Frank wheezed. "Lifeup. Teleport."

Frank disappeared from sight.

"Ana!" Ness shouted, running up to her. "Are you all right?"

Ana let out a feral growl, bounding to her feet. She grabbed Ness' arm with one hand and the grey-haired boy's hand with the other.

"Teleport," she hissed.

The world shifted around Ness. After a second, the mob's screams faded away as he appeared back in Raven's house. Ana let go of Ness' and Lloyd's arms.

"Fly got away," she muttered, kicking one of the stone benches. "Psych it! I let him get away!"

Ness took a step back. He had never seen Ana so angry. She turned to look at him, and her gaze softened.

"Sorry, Ness," she whispered. "I just… get like this sometimes. I'm trying not to, but it's hard to resist."

Ness immediately felt guilty for his fear.

"No, I'm sorry," he said. "I know that you have to fight like that if we want to win, and I didn't even help you fight Fly. I was useless."

"Well, you saved me," Lloyd said. "That's certainly something. Thank you for that, by the way. Whose house did you teleport us in, anyways?"

"Mine," Raven said, walking in. "And you seem awfully calm, considering that you almost died."

Lloyd shrugged.

"I don't really have a whole lot to live for," he said.

Ness bit his lip. Having faced depression multiple times before, he knew _that_ sentiment all too well.

"So what's your name again?" Raven asked, seeming unfazed by Lloyd's flippant attitude. "Ana told me, but I already forgot."

"Lloyd," the boy said. "I'm just another Vulcanese orphan wandering around. Surely you know of my type?"

 _There's no way that an orphan can sound so sophisticated,_ Ness thought. _He's obviously hiding something from us… but why?_

Ness looked at Ana, who was busy studying Lloyd's expression. Perhaps she was having similar thoughts?

"Well, glad to see that you're alive," Raven said. "And I'm ashamed that my neighbors treated you that way. We used to be good people… but I guess bitterness can fester in anyone, especially on Vulcan."

"No kidding," Lloyd said with a sneer. "I've experienced that firsthand."

"Raven," Ana said, still sounding furious with herself. "Fly's still alive. The man's a psion, believe it or not, and I let him teleport away. I don't think that this town is safe yet."

"And with the cultists still running around…" Ness added.

"Yeah," Raven said with a grimace. "Not good news. I think that you two scared Frank off, so we should be safe for a while."

"But people might get bitter that two Ceresian kids with psionic powers rained on their parade," Ana said. "At least, we're Ceresian in their minds."

Raven sighed.

"Yeah," she said. "I don't know what to do about that."

"We could send a few psions here to protect the town," Ana said, "But that might make the problem worse. Especially since most psions are… rather prickly."

"I guess we'll just hold out here," Raven said. "There's not much more that we can do. You're right; I don't think that Ceresian intervention is a good idea."

"…All right," Ana said. Turning to Lloyd, "Do you want to come with us? I don't know if Secretary Monotoli will let us take refugees, but we can certainly try. It might be feasible since you don't really have a home."

"Sure," Lloyd said. "I have nothing better to do. Thanks for taking me in and for rescuing me. Getting a second shot at life is always nice."

 _I would expect him to be a little more emotional than this…_ Ness thought. _I mean, he almost died!_

"Looks like we're going to have one psych of a report to file," Ana said with a grin. "Let's move out. I think that we're only endangering Raven by lingering here."

"Okay," Ness said. "Thanks again for letting us stay here, Raven!"

"It's nothing," Raven said. "Seeing Lloyd safe is enough of a reward for that."

"We could still probably pay you something once we get back to our base in the big city…" Ana said.

"Don't bother," Raven said, waving her hand in dismissal. "I'm fine right here. Just make sure to kick some more empirist ass, all right?"

"You've got it!" Ana said with a grin. She grabbed Ness' and Lloyd's arms. "Teleport!"

The last thing that Ness saw before warping away was Raven waving goodbye.


	4. Chapter 3: A Vanished Record

**Here I am with another chapter! We finally get back to Jeff now. Writing 3 main PoVs definitely has its downsides haha. But it's definitely good to portray different opinions and mindsets, especially because Ness, Jeff, and Ninten all think quite differently.**

 **I haven't been writing as much as I'd hoped to because Xenoblade Chronicles X is so fun, but I'm on a decent track. I just hope that I can pick up the pace a little so I can be done with this series before I go to college.**

 **Thank you as always to everyone who reviewed! It means a lot to me that this is one of the more popular pieces of fanfiction for Earthbound right now, especially since sci-fi/fantasy is really niche and not that many people like it even when done professionally. You guys are awesome. :D**

 **Anyways, enough blabbing. I should get to the reviews:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Yeah, I wanted Ness to look up to Ana because he really needs someone like that, but I didn't want her to _actually_ seem perfect to the readers. It's a tricky balance. And while powerful, PK Rockin is supposed to be powerful and using it to make the cultists flop over would be way less efficient than attacking them with a PK Fire. Ness is just a pacifist. :) Yep, Lloyd is clearly hiding something... although I'm not sure how much I should weave him into the story. I have too many characters incoming as it is haha.

 **crabbyTomato:** Yep. :) The first book should have been way faster, so I'm trying to make this one extra-fast to make up for it. But extra fast in fantasy is still slower than most genres, especially since I'm telling three stories at once right now. Yeah, they never taught us about the sexuality side of Pan in middle school when we learned about Greece haha. I was kinda surprised when I looked him up before writing Dr. Andonuts. Yep, that's generally what Vulcanese look like. :) And yeah, I'm taking a lot of inspiration from the recent conflicts in the Middle East for these scenes on Vulcan.

Well, cult logic never really makes sense. :) And yep, these cultists have a rather opportunistic view of who they define as an "outsider." Just look at the bigots today who say that all Muslims are terrorists when Christian terrorist groups have done way more harm throughout history (with the crusades in the middle ages and more recently with the KKK). Obviously, such terrorism isn't really Christian at all, but some people don't apply the same logic to Islam. I don't get it. :/ And yeah, Ness probably should have tried to help... but just like me, he freezes under stress. It's fun knowing that I'll freeze in panic if I'm about to crash into something while driving. D: And Lloyd's backstory isn't necessarily the same as in the games. :) I mean, Ana's isn't, and she's not the only one.

 **A Fan:** That's honestly why I think that the way that Apollo looks for those reactions is a little silly because they could happen for any reason. xD I mean, the courtroom's a pretty stressful place. The Duster thing was a coincidence. :P Maybe my subconscious was telling me to do that. I know, I feel bad for the people starting with book 2 also since so much stuff is happening already. I just didn't want to take any more time to establish characters. Ah, I'm not planning on picking up Paper Jam. I know that I'll just be disappointed because I always hope that the next Paper Mario game will be like Thousand Year Door.

That's true... except that using PK Rockin in that manner was woefully inefficient (he ran out of power really quickly), he could have blasted them with the same power and probably taken out more of them, and it didn't even solve his problem. It was Ana who chased off Frank (who was the only major threat), after all. And there is a definite domain for what PK Rockin can do; it's just a little broad since it's supposedly one of the strongest powers known to humankind. And yeah, Frank did teleport away rather quickly, but pretty much every psion can do that. Ana teleported from inside of a building right after, which wasn't allowed in the games either. And Megan can actually just teleport anywhere instantly with no dashing or spinning or anything. It's hardly godmoding when pretty much everyone can do it. :P And yeah, I'm still not sure how much significance Lloyd is going to have. :)

 **PSIBoy:** Responded in the PM (I'll get back to you soon, I promise! :D)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Well, it's hard to tell exactly where my inspiration for a lot of my characters comes from since I don't really plan them out, but it wouldn't surprise me if you did affect me. :) And I was thinking about killing him off, but it provides the protags with a greater sense of urgency if he's still lurking around somewhere. Somebody needs to fill that role... for now. :D Yep, weekly update. Every Friday. And we're going back to Ness and Ana next chapter, so you can see what happens then. :D

* * *

 **Journal Entry: May 24, 62 A. F.**

 _People always say that I am running away. Running away from my responsibilities, running away from my family. I guess I was. But honestly, can anyone blame me? "Dysfunctional" does not begin to describe my relatives… well, most of them, at least._

 _So why doesn't it feel like I'm running away right now? I've found myself in a wintry forest hundreds of miles away from civilization in a body that is not my own. Isn't this the most extreme version of fleeing from my duty?_

 _Maybe not. I guess I'm just… wandering. That's always been my style._

* * *

"Well, that about wraps it up for the psychoportation discipline," Mr. Agerate said, standing at the front of the classroom next to a projected screen littered with various diagrams. "Any questions?"

Tony raised his hand.

"Any questions _besides_ how the discipline got its bulky yet unprofessional name?" Mr. Agerate asked with a humorous smile.

Tony put his hand down. Jeff heard a few chuckles from the back of the room.

 _So,_ Jeff thought. _There really isn't much that I didn't know. It can manipulate space-time, but people don't mess with it a whole lot outside of teleportation. I wonder what would happen if they did._

"Well then," Mr. Agerate said. "Class dismissed."

As everyone else filed out of the room, Jeff walked up to Mr. Agerate. The teacher smiled at Jeff as if he had forgotten when Jeff blew up at him in the staff archives after encountering Giygas.

"I figured that you would come and talk to me sooner or later," Mr. Agerate said.

"Better to get this over sooner rather than later, right?" Jeff asked, keeping his voice neutral.

"I suppose," Mr. Agerate said, his posture annoyingly relaxed. "But… if this is what I think it's about, we should talk in private. Agreed?"

"Is this not private?" Jeff asked, looking around at the empty classroom.

"You have devices that listen into other people's conversations," Mr. Agerate said. "If a random student can easily tap into what we're saying, imagine what government spies can do."

"Are you saying that there are spies in this school?" Jeff asked.

"Why do you think that this planet is called 'Ceres,' Jeff?" Mr. Agerate responded.

"Honestly, I don't really care right now."

"Are you familiar with the Roman goddess named Ceres?" Mr. Agerate asked.

"Goddess of agriculture," Jeff said, not missing a beat. "Goddess of the harvest."

"Correct. So what is the crop of this planet? What are we growing and harvesting?"

 _How am I supposed to know?_ Jeff thought. _Wait a second…_

"Psions," Jeff whispered, his eyes narrowing.

"Right," Mr. Agerate said. "Psions, to help maintain order and control in the universe. A rather… archaic notion, no? But one that the government still believes in. So doesn't it make sense that spies would lurk around this school, knowing that educating psions is Ceres' main priority? Just like a farmer pulls out weeds so that the crops can grow better, the government sends spies to 'protect' us. I wonder how well that worked for Ness."

"Ness?" Jeff asked. "Why him?"

"He was nearly killed by an empirist rogue in his own chambers," Mr. Agerate said. "It makes me think that… hmm… the spies may have a different agenda than what they claim."

 _With this war…_ Jeff thought, _Could it be that they're pulling strings to get us more patriotic? After all, the government would love for us to blindly support them._

"So, shall we talk in a more private place?" Mr. Agerate repeated.

Jeff buried his anger, looking up at Mr. Agerate's inviting smile.

"Sure," he said. Why did it take so much effort to force himself to agree with such a logical argument?

"All right," Mr. Agerate said, taking Jeff's hand. "Teleport."

The world shifted around Jeff, turning even greyer than the classroom. After a few seconds, he materialized inside of a steel cube.

"Wha…" Jeff said. "Where are we? There aren't even any doors. This is literally just a hollow steel cube!"

"With a few air holes," Mr. Agerate added. "Still, nobody can hear us here."

"You could teleport out and leave me to die of thirst," Jeff realized out loud.

"I could," Mr. Agerate said. "But I won't. Now, what do you want to talk to me about?"

 _I'm inside of a psyching steel cube! Why does he think that this is okay?_

Jeff took a deep breath. He wasn't thinking logically. If Mr. Agerate wanted to harm him, he would have done so before now.

"I searched the library for records of Giygas," Jeff said. "More carefully, this time. I found nothing except for an Osohe legend. It claimed that Giygas was the last of some demon race made of pure evil."

"Congratulations," Mr. Agerate said, nodding in approval. "That legend is literally all that we know about Giygas other than encountering him firsthand."

"It said that he can destroy planets," Jeff said.

"He probably can," Mr. Agerate replied, not seeming fazed by the prospect.

"Do you _believe_ a legend from thousands of years ago?" Jeff asked.

"The Osohe knew what they were doing," Mr. Agerate said with a shrug. "I always had a fascination with them. Used to dig up artifacts on Vulcan. It's a shame that we ruined that planet."

"You come from Vulcan?" Jeff asked.

"Along with Ms. Monotoli," Mr. Agerate said. "It's how we know each other."

"You… know each other outside of teaching?" Jeff asked.

"Remember the conversation that you overheard the night of the starman attack?" Mr. Agerate asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know, where I talked to her about Paula? I thought that she was responsible for Paula's state, which she denied."

"Oh, yeah…" Jeff said. "Wait. If you were on Vulcan… did you know Carpainter's cultists?"

"Actually, yes," Mr. Agerate said. "I don't know if you've picked up on this, but I know Minerva pretty well. We go a ways back."

"Minerva as in _the president?_ " Jeff asked.

"Really, I had assumed that you figured it out by now."

 _Thanks,_ Jeff thought sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Did you know her father and sister, then?" Jeff asked. "Diana and Apollo?"

"…" Mr. Agerate sighed, his face turning downcast. He put his hands over his heart, taking a deep breath.

"Err… sorry if I-"

"It's fine," Mr. Agerate whispered. "I _do_ know Diana well. We were inseparable as children. But then she started killing whoever her father told her to. That ended _that._ "

"Oh," Jeff said, not knowing what else to say. "I'm… sorry."

"It's not your fault," Mr. Agerate said. "So, Giygas?"

 _He's really going to change the subject after that?_ Jeff thought.

"How should I know that you're not working with him?" Jeff asked.

"You don't," Mr. Agerate said. "But it wouldn't make sense. Why would I try to save you three from his grasp if I were working with him?"

"Maybe he's forcing you to do something, so you're working with him but you don't really like it and you still want to protect us?" Jeff said, grimacing by the end of it. Even _he_ could tell that he was reaching a bit.

"It's possible," Mr. Agerate said, locking eyes with Jeff. "It's your choice whether or not to trust me. I get the feeling that any protests on my part would further incriminate me."

 _He's so calm,_ Jeff thought, his eyes narrowing. _If I were getting closer to the truth, wouldn't he start to get nervous?_

 _I need to try a different route._

"Are you a human?" Jeff said.

"Why do you ask that?"

"You turned into a couple of beasts back in the staff archives," Jeff said. "One of those could be your true form."

"Except that those things aren't natural," Mr. Agerate said.

"That's why I'm worried!" Jeff exclaimed. "If you _are_ one of those creatures disguising as a human…"

"Shapeshifting is a standard ability for psions," Mr. Agerate said. "I taught you that, remember? Psychometabolism psionics affect one's body in a certain way. It's primary purpose is healing, but it can also allow psions to change their shape."

 _That's… true,_ Jeff thought, mentally smacking himself. _Why am I jumping to all of these conclusions without analyzing first?_

"All right," Jeff said. "That… makes sense, I guess. Going back to Giygas, you sealed the portal to his world, right? Why couldn't he just open up another one?"

"Because I was the one to open the portal in the first place," Mr. Agerate said. "He can't, thanks to the barrier around Ceres."

Jeff tried to look up to the sky and then realized that he was still standing inside of a steel cube. Of course he couldn't see the barrier from here.

"So why could _you_ open a portal?" Jeff asked.

"I guess I'm just special," Mr. Agerate said. "Minerva can, too."

"But no other psions can?"

"Correct."

"Why?" Jeff asked.

Mr. Agerate shrugged. Jeff clenched his teeth, realizing that Mr. Agerate wouldn't be able to tell him any more. Now this question would probably pester him for weeks.

"Why did Giygas call Kumatora its child?" Jeff asked.

"That's a question for her, I think," Mr. Agerate said. "If you want, I'll bring you back to the classroom so that you can find her."

Jeff tapped his foot on the ground, hearing quiet _clangs_ each time.

"Okay," Jeff said after a pause. "I don't really have any more questions for you. I still don't trust you, but… I guess I trust you more."

"Well, that's really all that I can ask for," Mr. Agerate said with a proud smile. " _I_ wouldn't trust me in your place. Still I'm glad that you can see my logic. Teleport."

The grey steel faded away as Jeff returned back to the classroom. He released a sigh of relief, not quite knowing why.

"Stressful, isn't it?" Mr. Agerate asked. "You don't know who I am or what I'm going to do, and you can't stop thinking about it. That's how I feel around Giygas."

 _Could someone who's faking all of this act so sincere?_ Jeff wondered, studying Mr. Agerate's weary face. _Somehow, I don't think so._

"I guess I'm going to find Kumatora and talk to her," Jeff said, turning around to walk away. "See you."

"Have fun," Mr. Agerate said. "And I hope that we can rebuild the trust between us."

 _After what I've seen, I don't know if that's possible,_ Jeff thought.

* * *

"Hey, Kuma," Jeff said, walking up and sitting down next to her on the cafeteria bench. "It looks like you recovered pretty well, huh?"

"Yeah," Kumatora said, her face breaking into a smirk. "I have psionic powers. That generally speeds up the recovery process. Tony's still recovering, though. I guess Giygas got him pretty good."

 _I was afraid of that,_ Jeff thought.

"Do you think…"

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Kumatora said, waving a hand dismissively. "The nurses said that his brain just needs some time to recover. He was in class today, remember?"

"But this is…" Jeff trailed off, remembering what Mr. Agerate said about spies. "His injuries aren't normal, Kuma. I don't know if the nurses understand that."

"When did you start using that nickname for me?" Kumatora asked.

"Er…" Jeff said, feeling his cheeks turn red. "Tony used it, so I thought…"

"It's fine," Kumatora said with a laugh. "I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating more things. Good thing that the Monotoli bitch got fired, huh?"

Jeff fidgeted in his seat. As awful as Ms. Monotoli could be, Jeff didn't approve of calling anyone a… _female dog._ He sat there for a second, hearing only the chatter in the background.

"Yeah, I guess," Jeff said. "Anyways, there's something that I want to talk to you about. Can we meet up later?"

"Why not talk right now?" Kumatora asked.

 _Ears everywhere,_ Jeff thought, remembering what Mr. Agerate had told him about spies. _I don't know why they would care, but…_

"I found a nice park that we can go to," Jeff said. "It will be nice to get some fresh air, right?"

Kumatora's eyes narrowed.

"Sure," she said hesitantly. "I… guess we can do that."

"All right," Jeff said, breathing an internal sigh of relief. "See you there in an hour or so, all right?"

"It's a deal," she said.

Kumatora shot a look at him that said, _What's this all about?_

Jeff shot a look back, trying to say, _I'll tell you later._

* * *

"All right," Kumatora said, walking up to Jeff in the park. "What did you want to talk to me about and why couldn't we have done it in the school?"

Jeff took a deep breath of crisp air, the birds chirping in the background soothing some of his anxiety.

"I want to talk to you about what happened in the staff archives," Jeff said, "And I didn't want anyone else to hear."

"So you take us to a _public park?_ " Kumatora asked. "Maybe I'm not familiar with Ceresian culture, but can't anyone come here and listen to us?"

"Uh… yeah," Jeff said, "But it's less suspicious this way. There won't be teachers here or anything."

"I guess that's true," Kumatora said, her posture softening. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"What happened in the staff-"

"What _specifically_ do you want to talk about?" Kumatora asked, rolling her eyes. "Enough shit happened that you have to narrow it down a little."

"Giygas called you his child," Jeff said. "What does that mean?"

"To hell if I know," Kumatora muttered. "I asked Agerate that question, and he said that he didn't know either. Well, he had a guess, but…"

"What's the guess?" Jeff asked.

"It's a little far-fetched."

"I want to hear it anyway."

"Why am I not surprised?" Kumatora asked with a grin. "You always want to know every damned theory, no matter what the subject. Agerate thinks that I'm an Osohe."

"Like… one of the aliens from the legends?"

"Yup."

"That's crazy!" Jeff exclaimed. "You're clearly a human."

"That's what I told him," Kumatora said, "But he went on about how my PSI… er, my _psionics_ were different from other humans."

"I think he's reading a little too much into that," Jeff said.

"Gee, you think?" Kumatora asked sarcastically. "But I guess geezers like him usually don't always think straight."

"He's not that old, Kuma," Jeff said. "He's… in his forties? Fifties?"

"That's pretty old," Kumatora said.

"My dad's in his sixties," Jeff countered.

"Just because your dad's old doesn't mean that Agerate is young," Kumatora said with a wolfish grin. "So the geezer thinks that Giygas considers the Osohe his children, which would make me his daughter. It's pretty messed up stuff."

 _Speaking of your lineage…_

"Have you remembered anything else?" Jeff asked. "Like… who your _actual_ parents are?"

"Nope," Kumatora said. "Only feelings. I recognized Giygas." She shivered. "Damn me, I did! Something about him seems so familiar. I can almost _feel_ the spot in my mind where my memories of him are… but I just can't seem to reach it. It's driving me crazy."

The wind moaned in the distance. A gust passed right over Jeff, sending his jacket flapping. He shivered, although he wasn't sure if it was from the cold.

"So… basically, the only thing that we have to go off of is Mr. Agerate's illogical hypothesis," Jeff said. "That's strange, though. Normally, he's quite… methodical."

"Ooh, look at you using fancy words!" Kumatora mocked.

"I wasn't trying to be verbose."

"Which means…?"

"Using complicated words for the sake of it."

"I know that you're not," Kumatora teased. "I just… needed to make fun of someone." She sighed, her shoulders slouching. "I think that we all need a little bit more of that right now. The war… Giygas… my memory… we really have a lot to deal with, huh?"

Jeff opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. What was he supposed to say to _that?_

He was saved from having to reply upon hearing footsteps crunch on fallen leaves behind him. He turned around, spotting a familiar face.

"Hello, Ms. Aniah!" Jeff said. "It's nice to see you again."

"Aw, thanks," Megan said, walking up to Jeff. "And just 'Megan' is fine. Nice day out today, isn't it?"

"Uh…" Kumatora said. "Who is this?"

"Oh!" Jeff exclaimed. "I should introduce you two to each other. Kumatora, this is Megan Aniah. She's Ana's mom and a pretty big deal in the government."

Megan waved hello.

"And Ms. An- _Megan_ , this is Kumatora. She's a student at our school."

"And a wilder, I see," Megan said. "You don't see many of those anymore. It's nice to meet you, Kumatora."

"Nice to meet you too," Kumatora said, although Jeff couldn't tell how if she was merely being polite.

"Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?" Jeff asked. "I was under the impression that important government officials were swamped with work right about now. Because of the war and all, I mean."

"Yeah, I've never been good at dealing with war," Megan said. "I get too emotional about it. That's what Minerva thinks, at least. She filled me in on what happened with Giygas. I wasn't aware that the thing was real."

"We weren't either," Kumatora said. "So imagine our shock upon meeting him."

Jeff resisted the urge to scold Kumatora for her flippant attitude towards an important government official, reminding himself that Megan didn't care.

"I know," Megan said with a humorous smile. "That must have been one rude awakening. Anyways, Minerva said that Agerate violated this protocol and that restriction or whatever. She tasked me with telling him that, although she doesn't want him apprehended for some reason."

"So you're… going yourself?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah," Megan said. "I wanted to walk around anyways. Teleportation is awesome and all that, but using my legs can also be cool."

"Agreed," Kumatora said.

"Besides," Megan said, her voice turning steely. "I want to talk to Agerate in person. Something about him bugs me."

"You mean from when we met during the starman attack?" Jeff asked.

"Yes," Megan said. "He revealed himself as a powerful psion, but nobody has ever heard of the guy before. Additionally, there are _no_ records of him ever going through some sort of training with psionics. Actually, there's nothing on him at all since before two years ago."

"Well, he said that he grew up on Vulcan," Jeff said. "I guess they didn't keep track of records there?"

"Yeah, that's probably it," Megan said, although she didn't seem convinced. She shook her head, a smile popping back onto her face. "I should be off to talk to Agerate. It was nice seeing you again, Jeff. If you see Ana before I do, say hi to her for me!"

"All right," Jeff said. "See you later."

Megan Aniah walked off, leaving Jeff and Kumatora alone once more.

"Hey," Kumatora whispered. "We should follow her and see what she says to Agerate. It sounds interesting."

"Uh… it's probably just going to be political protocol," Jeff said. "It actually sounds really boring."

"Aw, come on!" Kumatora said. "I _like_ this lady. She'll keep things exciting, and I really don't have anything better to do."

Jeff looked at the eager glint in her eye. She really _was_ serious about this.

 _I guess I don't have anything else to do either,_ Jeff thought, _Since I don't think that she'll answer any more of my questions._

"I'll come," Jeff said.

"All right!" Kumatora said, taking off into a speed walk. "Let's do this!"

 _I can't believe I keep agreeing to stuff like this,_ Jeff replied, shaking his head as he hustled to keep up.

* * *

Megan didn't seem to feel the need to keep the meeting between her and Mr. Agerate secret, as she approached him in the middle of the school's generously colored hallways and started talking. Jeff and Kumatora didn't even bother to hide themselves; Jeff merely pretended to hang out and look disinterested like a normal teenager.

"Hello, Mr. Agerate," Megan said, her dangerously soft voice giving Jeff the shivers.

"Why, if it isn't Secretary Aniah," Mr. Agerate replied slowly. "What brings you here?"

"You violated numerous clauses of the Psionics Safety Act when you attempted to contact an otherworldly entity," Megan said.

"And I bet I violated even more clauses once I succeeded," Mr. Agerate said dryly.

 _Okay, what happened to going Mr. Agerate wanting to go somewhere safe because of government spies?_ Jeff thought. _Oh wait, Megan works for the government, doesn't she? So it doesn't really matter. I'm dumb._

"This is serious business," Megan said, her voice stern. "These clauses were enacted to protect citizens from overconfident psions."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that Min-President Carpainter has broken those clauses more times than I," Mr. Agerate said. "So she probably didn't send you to fire me or anything, correct?"

"She did not order me to fire you," Megan said slowly, "But I might anyway if you don't watch what you say about the president."

"Don't we have freedom of speech?" Mr. Agerate asked. "I believe that was one of Minerva's platforms during her campaign a couple years ago."

"That's true," Megan said, nodding her head in concession. "I apologize for that stray comment. It was… unprofessional of me."

Mr. Agerate nodded, accepting the apology.

"You're normally not so cold," he said. "Why do I aggravate you, Secretary Aniah?"

"You know things," Megan growled, "Like the fact that I'm normally bubbly and happy even in serious situations. More importantly, you're a powerful psion with vast knowledge about starman psychotechnology, yet you hardly appear on any records. It makes me suspicious."

"Well, I _did_ meet you before," Mr. Agerate replied.

"Right," Megan said. "At the Gate. You pulled out the device that the starmen were using to disable it. How did you do that?"

"I gave it a command using just the right amount of psionic energy," Mr. Agerate said. "That's how all starman psychotechnology works. And I also met you before then."

"When?" Megan asked. "I don't remember seeing you anywhere else."

"It was a couple years ago," Mr. Agerate said. "Around the time when Minerva first became president. I don't remember the exact date."

"Psst," Kumatora whispered to Jeff. "How does the geezer know so much about starmen?"

"I don't know," Jeff whispered back. "But now that I think about it, the starmen that we fought did seem to recognize him. They even called him 'forsaken' or something like that."

"Does that mean that he worked with them?" Kumatora asked.

Megan responded to Mr. Agerate before Jeff could say anything more.

"I just wonder why no records of you show up," she said. "And why I can't remember you. It makes me think that you're messing with everyone's minds with telepathy psionics so that you can weasel your way out of the records."

By now, most of the students in the hallway were looking at Megan and Mr. Agerate. Neither one seemed to care.

"But you have no proof for that," Mr. Agerate said.

"I don't," Megan said through clenched teeth. "That's why I wanted to meet you personally. Someone who can evade the system for so long is dangerous, especially with an active war going on. If a psion gest the feeling that they can do anything without being discovered… Well, war is the perfect time for profiteering."

"Sound logic," Mr. Agerate said. "So why do you think that Minerva hasn't done anything to me? She must have figured out everything that you just said."

"I don't know," Megan said. "It almost makes me think you're pulling her strings."

"Sinister," Mr. Agerate said.

"Are you mocking me?"

"No. I merely… comment. It's quite possible that you're right, Secretary Aniah. From the information that you've been given, your conclusion is a plausible one, if not provable or even probable."

"…You set up a unique defense, Mr. Agerate," Megan said. "I would expect a guilty man to be more flustered. You are either sincere or a master charlatan. It would not surprise me if you were the latter."

"Bringing out the formal words to sound serious, are we?" Mr. Agerate asked with a reserved smile. "While I don't think that I can _really_ stop you from investigating me if you want to, I would urge you to spend your time elsewhere. Perhaps you should worry a little more about your daughter."

 _Ana?_ Jeff thought, his heart skipping a beat. _Did something happen to her?_

"What do you mean?" Megan asked, raising an eyebrow. "Ana can take care of herself."

"If you're looking for a master charlatan, you only need to look at your offspring, Secretary Aniah," Mr. Agerate said. "There's more to Ana than you think."

"And why should I believe you?" Megan asked, her voice outright hostile. "What makes you think that you know her better than I do?"

Silence blanketed the hallway. Everyone looked at Mr. Agerate for a response.

"We have this little exercise in Intro to PSI," Mr. Agerate said, "Where psionic students hold up an orb that makes them see the person who scares them the most."

"I remember that well," Megan said. "I saw Alsom Garrickson back when I took the class back in 53. It wasn't fun."

"I wouldn't imagine that it would be," Mr. Agerate said. "Anyways, Ana's experience was quite… illuminating."

 _What?_ Jeff thought. _How did Mr. Agerate even know what she saw?_

"You read her mind with telepathy?" Megan asked.

"Of course," Mr. Agerate said. "The order came from President Carpainter, after all. She wanted all of the information. Poor little Ana's more insecure than she likes to admit. She hides all of her problems from the outside world."

"Yeah, she's always had a history of doing that," Megan said. "What's your point?"

"Her problems might be a bit more… _severe_ than you might imagine. It's a little more than what most rich girls complain about. And then after meeting Morgan Lorune… well, I'm sure you've heard what she can do to a fragile mind with words alone."

 _Morgan?_ Jeff asked, exchanging a nervous glance with Kumatora. _Like… the woman who met us at the broken spaceship? What does she have to do with this?_

"Morgan stopped doing that," Megan said in a tone that brooked no argument.

"And then she started again," Mr. Agerate said, pushing through Megan's hostility with a smile. "Ask your husband about it. I'm sure that he has the logistics."

Megan closed her eyes, pursing her lips.

"As much as I want to scream at you," she whispered, "It would be _prudent_ to assess your claims first. I am 99% sure that Ana is absolutely fine, though."

"Do you think that Mr. Agerate is lying?" Kumatora whispered to Jeff. "It doesn't seem like that would be beneath him."

"I… don't know," Jeff whispered back.

"Attention all staff and students," came a voice that boomed across the hallway. Jeff guessed that a psion was amplifying it. "This is your President, Minerva Carpainter. I have an important announcement for you."

Jeff sighed out loud as the tension in the room dissipated. It was nice to have _something_ other than the argument between Mr. Agerate and Megan Aniah to focus on.

"I swear," Megan muttered, glaring at Mr. Agerate. "If this is related to Ana…"

"I'm not _that_ clever," Mr. Agerate replied.

"Secretary Monotoli relayed back some good news," Minerva continued, likely using her psionic powers to displace her voice. "We achieved a great victory in battle over the empirists. Boras Lorune is dead."

The students cheered, pumping their fists in the air and letting out whoops.

"Old news," Megan muttered.

"However, no victory comes without sacrifice," Minerva said. "During the course of this battle, two brave psionic students went missing. It is unknown if they are captured or dead."

The students silenced.

"Oh," Megan whispered. "This."

Tears started coming to her eyes.

 _Geez,_ Jeff thought. _Is it that bad?_

"…Sorry," Megan said, wiping her eyes and sniffling. "Heh. I've never been able to control my feelings well. I wonder how I ended up with a job in politics."

 _Who is it?_ Jeff wanted to shout, feeling like he would explode if he didn't know in the next ten seconds.

"These two students are named Ninten and Claus," Minerva said. "Both first year students who exceled at both psionics and swordplay. The government shall refrain from further action until the missing students are determined to either be alive or dead. But I hope that until then, you all will wish for their safety."

Jeff felt a hole rip through his chest. Ninten… Claus… Gone? He didn't know them well, but that only made it hurt more. He remembered how nicely Ninten had said goodbye to him… And now Jeff might never be able to see him again. If only he had spent more time with them…

 _You couldn't have known,_ a part of him said.

Jeff knew that was true, but it didn't make him feel any better.

"I thought that they weren't supposed to be in danger!" Kumatora shouted. "Wasn't it supposed to be like an apprenticeship? See what psions do on the battlefield without being in real danger?"

"That was the plan," Megan whispered, "But the empirists attacked us. We never saw it coming. I feel awful about it too. Ninten and Ana were best friends as children… if only I could have done something to save him. I feel so powerless, being able to do nothing but pray that he's all right."

"This isn't any of our faults," Mr. Agerate said.

"I… guess you're right," Megan said. "I still feel like a pile of shit, though. Whoops, excuse my language. Oh wait, I don't fucking care. I'll talk with you later, Mr. Agerate. I don't think that anyone wants to say anything after that."

 _They're not dead,_ Jeff thought. _Why is everyone acting like they already died? They're both a lot tougher than they look. They'll be fine._

 _…Right?_

"Fuck," Kumatora muttered. "This war business is psyched up."

"Hey," came a soft, accented voice behind Jeff. He turned around to come face to face with Poo, the Dalaamian prince. He looked worried, but who wouldn't be? "I was wondering if you would be willing to help me with something."

 _Yeah, great time for that,_ Jeff thought sarcastically.

"What is it?" he asked. "If you're asking me now, then I assume that it has to do with the announcement."

"Paula," Poo said. "She's got to be taking this hard. Can you try to help me comfort her?"

 _Ah._

"I'm socially inept, remember?" Jeff said with an apologetic shrug. "I wouldn't be able to say much to help."

"But you're not a Dalaamian," Poo said, "So at least she won't see you as some kind of foreign weirdo trying to intrude on her personal life."

Jeff had never heard Poo sound so bitter before.

"…All right," Jeff said. "If you really think that it will help, I'm in. Hey Kuma, do you want to come?"

"Nah," she said. "Paula hates my guts. I'll just make things worse."

 _Oh yeah,_ Jeff thought. _Paula blew up at her during their argument about Diana Carpainter and false religions._

"You ready to go?" Poo asked. "The longer that we keep her waiting, the worse she will probably be."

Jeff looked back at Megan Aniah and Mr. Agerate. Megan walked down the hallway, heading out of the school. Jeff gulped, turning back to Poo.

"Yeah," he said.


	5. Chapter 4: Prison

**So I've got some good news and some bad news about this chapter. Good news: it's better than I remembered it. Bad news: I didn't remember it at all before I edited it, so that's really not saying much. :P**

 **Anyways, I have finals next week, so... that actually won't affect my posting schedule, since I already have up to chapter 9 done (which is further behind than I hoped to be by now, honestly). I guess I'm just wasting my (digital) breath.**

 **By the way, the random notes talking about the fragmented memories (journal entries) aren't me talking. It's someone else.**

 **Well, I don't have much else to really say. Time to respond to reviews before I distract myself with youtube videos! :)**

 **Shimo no ko:** Apollo and Diana are twins in mythology? ...I did not know that. xD Ah, thanks! :) I was afraid that all of my mythology/history references were way too western (I still am worried about that haha... Characters are going to have to clear things up about how the empire actually took over and why the more advanced eastern civilizations didn't have more influence). Don't worry, there's going to be another infuriatingly mysterious guy coming up soon! :D Not in this chapter, though. We'll see if Mr. Agerate is right. :) Ah, thanks! I planned to give Poo a bigger role, but that just didn't end up happening. And I hope that this doesn't disappoint you, but this is a Ness chapter.

 **PSIBoy:** Thanks! :) I can see why you wouldn't be into mythology, but I had a unit in AP Lit on Greek plays (which was over a year ago now haha) and I thought that the mythology was super cool. Those Greeks write better than a lot of authors do today. Subtle foreshadowing... maybe accidentally? Ah, adding more mysteries is my job. :D If you knew anything, then you wouldn't have any need to keep reading. Yep, reverse psychology! ...I still think it's way too risky, but Jeff is kinda dumb at times.

Megan doesn't seem the most stable herself, hmm? :P Yep, Mr. Agerate is one of the great mysteries of the cosmos, along with the Higgs Boson, antimatter, black holes, and quarks. See you! :)

 **crabbyTomato:** Yep, takes a lot of time. ._. If a standard book is about 100k long, then it's hard to keep a book with three separate stories at even 200k. Or if I do, it means that I gloss over a lot of the details, which I don't know if I want to do. Oh yeah, Zeus. xD Greek gods are interesting imo because they allow for many different interpretations, instead of the more modern "Our god is right end of story." It promotes critical thinking. :) But yeah, it was a total soap opera. If anyone accuses our generation of being too dramatic and indecent with stuff like that, we know what _real_ traditions were set over 2000 years ago.

Yep, pretty much anyone from any group can go a little crazy. It fascinates me, honestly. Especially when people who share a lot of my political views are a little crazy in what they believe. Yes, Jenny would have field day with this one. :) Well, most of the characters were born in the same locations as in the game. Lloyd's just an exception. I'm still deciding how far I want to take his character. Yay, that was the exact feeling that I was trying to convey with the steel cubes! :D It was never really revealed exactly what Ana saw in the orb test, but she was extremely polite and smiley, and it was revealed in the prologue that she _was_ talking to Minerva. Like you pointed out yourself, that's not necessarily Paula's view on the matter. In fact, it probably has more to do with Poo's perception than Paula's. Yeah, I've been meaning to develop Paula for a while, but I keep putting it off for other stuff. I'll try to get you to like her by the end. :)

 **A Fan:** Yeah, I've lost all of my hope for the Paper Mario series. xD Yeah, I didn't make up those names myself, and that was my first reaction upon seeing "psychometabolism" as well. :) Heh, that's totally me too. xD I use profanity, but not to attack other people. Yeah, in M3 the Osohe were a race of humans, but it's different in this fic. They're an alien civilization that died out millenia ago... OR DID THEY? o.O Ah, thanks for the catch! Um... you might be disappointed by the Paula-Jeff interaction. It's not really a large focus of the next Jeff chapter.

* * *

 **Journal Entry: January 7, 64 A. F.**

 _I hardly recognize myself anymore._

 _Well, I look different, but I'm talking about my personality. When I dreamed up "Dr. Andonuts" as a child, I pictured someone dedicated yet eccentric. I've always been the latter, but the former is just starting to come to me now. It makes me feel like an entirely different person._

 _It makes me feel… like Dr. Andonuts._

 _Is it possible that this is more than a joke gone too far?_

* * *

 **Note:** This one is super, _super_ long, so I split it up into a bunch of different parts for anyone else who decides to read this. I know that you young'uns have no attention span with your fancy new entertainment machines, so a couple hundred words per chunk sounds good. Ah, who am I kidding? Nobody's going to read this until I'm long gone… And I plan on sticking around for quite some time.

* * *

"Well," Geldegarde Monotoli said, walking up to Ness and Ana. "Your actions were quite… rash."

Ness fidgeted in his seat. Looking up at Monotoli's cold smile, he couldn't help but remember Apollo Carpainter, the cultist leader who had nearly killed him two years ago. He distracted himself by looking around the empty, stone room, but the height made him woozy. Why did Secretary Monotoli have to set up his office on the highest level of the building?

"It is important to save the lives of innocents, secretary," Ana said, her voice respectful yet cold. "Besides, it sends a message that Ceres are willing to help. That should appeal to your political senses, yes?"

Geldegarde Monotoli took a long stare at Ana.

"You should have waited after filing your report," he said. "We could have put more… _capable_ psions on the job. Ones who would not have let Frank Fly escape."

"At the time, I didn't know that he was a psion," Ana said, her voice challenging Monotoli's. "And even if I had known, it would have taken this bureaucracy hours to act. By then, Lloyd would be dead."

"One Vulcanese boy is not worth letting Fly go," Monotoli replied. "Think of how many more lives Frank Fly will claim."

"I told you that I didn't know, sir," Ana said, her voice icy. "I had no reason to suspect that Frank had psionic powers of any kind. Short of visiting the Shard of Ceres, how could I have figured it out?"

The dry humor in Ana's voice lingered in the air. Geldegarde Monotoli's mouth tightened. Ness flinched, feeling like an ant caught between a battle of titans.

"You seem to have a problem with respecting authority, Ms. Aniah," Secretary Monotoli said, his voice dangerously soft.

"I… suppose that I do," Ana said, taking a deep breath, "And I apologize for the little gibe. But under the same circumstances, I would act the same way again. Wouldn't you only have sent a psion or two over there anyway, sir? I think they would have defeated Frank, same as us, but allowed him to escape."

"At least you are honest," Monotoli said with a chuckle, "If not overconfident. I do agree that it is important for a psion to possess critical thinking skills. Perhaps you were correct in your assumptions, or perhaps we could have captured the cultist. We will never know. I want to respect your will to choose, but can't you see how dangerous it would be to let an untrained psion do whatever they wish? Even letting you go on a reconnaissance mission with Ness required bending the rules a bit."

 _He's trying to talk circles around us,_ Ness thought. _He knows that Ana's right, so he's trying to wiggle his way out by changing the subject._

 _Speaking of which, he still hasn't told us anything about Claus or Ninten. I don't know what I would do if they… they…_ Ness couldn't finish the thought.

Right then, another psion teleported in, saving Ness from his own thoughts. He looked young, although not as young as Ness or Ana.

"Secretary Monotoli, sir!" he said, holding the back of his right hand to the side of his head in a traditional salute. "Cultists were spotted in a small village to the south, causing some sort of mischief. They claim to worship Giygas."

"The one from the Osohe legends?" Monotoli asked incredulously.

"Yes, sir," the psion said. "I found it difficult to believe at first as well. But I saw them with my own eyes, sir. They don't appear to be doing anything dangerous yet, but they are occupying parts of the village."

"Which one is it?" Monotoli asked. "This would be so much easier if the Vulcanese named their own cities. I guess that's what happens when 99% of them never leave the town that they were born in."

"Village A-4, sir!" The psion said. "And at least it's on our radar. Shall we take more psions over there to be safe?"

"Frank worships Giygas," Ana cut in. "He could be behind the whole thing."

Secretary Monotoli's gaze turned on Ana.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive," Ana said.

"And you can confirm this as well, soldier?" Monotoli asked Ness.

"Er… yes, sir," Ness said.

"This could get dangerous," Geldegarde Monotoli whispered, his eyes narrowing. "We should send you more psions. According to the students here, Frank Fly is a psion himself."

"May I go?" Ana asked, her eyes alight with determination. "I have some unfinished business with him."

Ness shied away from Ana. In that moment, she looked like a tiger stalking her prey: every muscle tight, her body prepared to pounce. She flashed a toothy smile.

"Careful, Miss Aniah," Monotoli said. "You cannot let your personal desires get in the way of our mission."

"Indeed," the psion said. "The battlefield is no place for young girls."

"I can take him," Ana said. "I beat him on my own before; I can beat him again. Besides, I just got back from my reconnaissance mission, so I'm completely free."

"Hm…" Monotoli said, stroking his chin. "You bring up valid points, but I fear that your anger will lead you astray."

Ana took a deep breath, reverting back to her normal self. She tilted her head, smiling sweetly. Ness was surprised how genuine she looked.

"I can restrain myself," she said. "How do you think that I managed to beat him in the first place? He tried to goad me into doing something stupid, but it didn't work." Ana paused. "I will accept your wishes, Secretary Monotoli, but if you do choose me then I promise that I will fulfill this mission without letting my emotions get in the way."

"…All right," Monotoli said. "You will go _with_ another team. You will obey all orders from your team leader, or you will not get another chance like this."

"Thank you, sir," Ana said, breaking into a grin. "I won't let you down."

 _They looked ready to fight each other just a few minutes ago,_ Ness thought, _And now they seem to be getting along fine. This is why I can't understand politics._

 _Saving Ninten and Claus… I can understand that. I can devote my time to that, but not now. Not without Ana helping me._

Ness gulped, looking up at Secretary Monotoli. Should he ask…? What would happen if Monotoli laughed in his face?

"I'm sending Miss Aniah over along with a couple of other competent psions," Geldegarde Monotoli said to the psion. "They should arrive shortly."

"Thank you sir," the psion said. "Shall I return to the village?"

"Yes."

The psion nodded, disappearing from sight.

"Um… Secretary Monotoli?" Ness asked, trying not to sound panicked. "M-May I go too?"

 _I screwed that up, didn't?_ Ness thought, his heart sinking into his stomach.

"You?" Monotoli asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Why do you want to go, soldier?"

"I just…" Ness swallowed. "I just don't want to be left behind."

"He won't be a liability," Ana said, "And he doesn't have anything better to do right now."

 _Thank you!_ Ness thought.

"All right, then," Monotoli said, waving his hand. "You both can meet up with your team in the building right next to here." He pointed out a window to another stone structure.

Ness drew a shaky breath, loosening his muscles as he sighed in relief. He started coughing on all of the smoke that he inhaled, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to get left behind!

"Thank you, sir," Ness whispered.

"Just make sure that you perform," Monotoli said with a curt nod. "You are dismissed."

Ness followed Ana out of Secretary Monotoli's office. As soon as Ness closed the door behind him, Ana wrapped her arms around him.

"You're so brave," she whispered. "I know that all of this is tough for you, considering your past with the cultists. It's really noble how you're trying to get past that." She paused. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"No, no!" Ness protested, hugging Ana back. "I just… didn't expect that."

Ana laughed.

"You can tell me if I'm making you uncomfortable," she said. "Romance has never really been my strength. All I can do is hit things."

 _What's this feeling in my heart?_ Ness thought. _It's like I'm… whole. Ana's here to watch over me and protect me. She's here for me to lean on. She'll catch me if I fall._

For the first time that Ness could remember, the dull stress in his heart disappeared, leaving him to feel lighter than a feather.

"You can do so much more than that," Ness whispered. "You're perfect."

"Not remotely close," Ana said, bitterness seeping into her voice. "You saw how I have anger issues." She released Ness. "I… get too determined, sometimes. I turn into a single-minded killing machine just like those cultists do." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I keep telling myself that I can control it, but it's just getting worse."

"I think that you're controlling it pretty well!" Ness protested.

"You didn't see me when I was fighting Morgan," Ana said, walking down the stairs that lead out of the building. Ness hurried to keep up. "She played me like a flute. She got me so angry that couldn't think about what I was doing. It was almost like being in a trance."

A chill ran down Ness' spine.

"I became terrified of my rage," Ana continued, "So she used that against me too. She took you hostage and convinced me that if I attacked her, I would fall into the same, mindless anger and… kill you."

"I'm… sorry," Ness said.

"Don't feel sorry for me," Ana said. "I'm not the one who's in danger from their own lover."

"I know that you would never hurt me, Ana."

"How are you so sure?" Ana asked, halting and turning around to face Ness with desperate eyes. "We're such fragile creatures. We can be shaped and molded to the point where we can't even recognize ourselves anymore. How do you know that I won't turn into someone who would hurt you?"

"Because," Ness said, "You're willing to let me fight with you. If you were really in danger of killing me, you wouldn't even let me near you."

Ana's shoulders relaxed. She shook her head, wearing a smirk.

"I guess you're right," she whispered. "I do get kind of obsessive when I think that someone I love is in danger. I guess I'm making a big fuss about nothing… I tend to do that, in case you haven't noticed. I blame the hormones. Thanks for talking that through with me."

"You're welcome," Ness said. "You do so much to help me that I need to give _something_ back, right?"

Ana took a deep breath. She started walking down the stairs again, although she hesitated before setting each foot down, as if she were walking down into a castle's dungeon.

"I guess that you're right," she said. "I sometimes think so much about how much more I can give that I forget that I have needs and wants as well. You ready to head over and meet our team?"

"I'm going to tell Lloyd that we're leaving," Ness said. "But I'll meet you there!"

Ana and Ness arrived at the bottom of the stairs. They walked out of the building into the desolate streets of Vulcan. The eternally grey sky loomed above and the grey streets sunk below. Ness put on his face mask, trying to breathe as little as possible.

"All right," Ana said, putting her mask on as well. "Don't take too long, all right? We have some cultist ass to kick!"

"Roger that," Ness said, grinning under his face mask.

* * *

"Lloyd?" Ness shouted. To himself, "Where could he be?"

Ness looked around his room, which he now shared with Lloyd. Nothing. Where did he even have to go? Why couldn't he have just stayed?

 _Remember, you weren't in working condition for years after your run in with cultists,_ Ness told himself. _Cut him some slack._

Ness sighed. He didn't want to leave Lloyd without telling him, but it looked like he might be forced to. If he stalled too long, then who knew what Frank Fly would be able to accomplish?

"Hey," Ness heard from behind him. "You looking for the refugee kid?"

He turned around to spot a boy who looked a few years older than him. His purple robes identified him as a psion.

"Yeah," Ness said. "I'm going off on a mission, and I want to tell him so that he doesn't freak out."

"The kid doesn't seem to freak out about anything," the older boy said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Regardless, he's at the prisoner camp. He asked me where it was and I was so surprised that I just told him."

"No way!" Ness exclaimed.

"Sorry," the older boy said with a shrug. "He took off right after I told him."

"No, I'm not blaming you," Ness said. "I just wonder why he wanted to go to the prisoner camp. What could he possibly want there?"

"Dunno," the older boy said. "Maybe he sees it as an adventure. You know how Vulcanese are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ness asked.

"Well…" the boy said, shying back at Ness' aggressive town. "I mean, you know… they're kind of weird. They don't always have good reasons for what they do."

"Maybe that's because this universe has hurt them so much!" Ness exclaimed.

"Maybe," the older boy said, "But they still act quite erratic. It can be difficult to reason with them. And that's really what matters at this point, you know?"

Ness had to force himself not to sneer. He could see where the older boy was coming from, but it was flat-out _wrong_ to ignore the suffering of the Vulcanese.

"All right," Ness said, trying to keep the hostility out of his voice. "Thanks. I'll check at the prisoner camp."

"I hope that you find him," the older boy said. "He seems like a real wild card. Who knows what he'll do without supervision?"

 _Lloyd isn't a bad person!_ Ness wanted to shout.

He managed a stiff nod before walking out of the barracks, once again viewing the seemingly endless array of factories and downtrodden workers. This place really _was_ depressing. Ness heard rumors about Monotoli wanting to move their base of operations to a nicer city (or at least a city with a nice side), but part of him felt that they should live with the grime and filth so that they could appreciate what the Vulcanese had to go through. Ness started walking towards the prison camp, brooding on thoughts about Lloyd while quickening his pace.

 _The way that the boy back in the barracks viewed Lloyd wasn't even mean-spirited, really,_ Ness thought. _He just sees Lloyd as a different class of human because of his Vulcanese birth status. That annoys me more than someone outright awful like Pokey's dad because the boy probably thought that he was being nice and accepting just because everyone else is so awful in comparison. I want to show him that he's wrong, but I don't know how._

 _I guess I'm lucky that Ana sees the truth of this issue. Monotoli and most of the other psions that I overheard seem to view the Vulcanese almost as another species. I guess it's hard to see things from their perspective unless they experience what the Vulcanese have. After meeting Apollo Carpainter…_ Ness shivered. _I think that I understand just how desperate these people are._

But where did that leave Ana? She had never been to Vulcan before this (or so Ness assumed), so she should only be able to see the downtrodden appearance of the Vulcanese rather than the root causes of their behavior, same as the other psions. Yet she somehow managed to see them as fellow humans instead of a race that needed to be saved and civilized.

A smile came to Ness' lips, hidden under his face mask. He was so lucky to have Ana here with him. After Ninten and Claus went missing, she was the only one left. Ness would have gone insane even after four days without being with someone who saw the Vulcanese as humans.

But Ness couldn't deny that he wanted to learn how to become independent. Sure, being with Ana was awesome, but she wouldn't be there to help him forever. He needed to learn how to rely only on himself.

That was going to start now.

Ness had arrived at the prison camp, guarded by two ectoplasmic warriors. This part of the city contained even more smoke and grime than the rest. Ness coughed, spitting mucus into his face mask. Gross. He wiped his mask on his shirt, viewing the still landscape around him. Ness spotted no signs of life in this area; nothing made a sound. Ness put his face mask back on, clutching his heart. He knew how this emptiness felt all too well. Memories flashed in his mind, memories of entire days spent cooped up in his room, feeling too scared to leave.

Ness gritted his teeth. This was why he came here. He had to overcome the part of him that wanted to shrivel and fade away once and for all. After all, Frank Fly might murder more innocent Vulcanese if Ness didn't get to the mission quickly enough. He approached the two ectoplasmic warriors.

 _"Didn't you express interest in joining Miss Aniah and the others?"_ Ness heard in his head.

"Who's there?" Ness asked, looking around.

 _"This is Secretary Monotoli, using telepathy through the ectoplasmic warriors."_

 _How does that even work?_ Ness asked. _If only Jeff were here to explain everything like he always does._

"Um…" Ness said. "I'm looking for Lloyd. I think that he came through here."

When put like that, his excuse sounded rather lame. Who was he to jeopardize the entire mission just so that he could talk to Lloyd?

 _"Hm…"_ Montoli said telepathically. _"I suppose that's possible. I assumed that most Vulcanese would be scared by these soldiers, so I was really only watching for psions. However, don't you have a mission to attend to?"_

 _Maybe, but I can't let myself go back now._

"I just need to say goodbye so that he doesn't freak out," Ness said. "It will be quick. Please, sir."

 _"…All right, soldier. You may pass."_

Ness breathed a sigh of relief as the ectoplasmic soldiers motioned for him to enter. He walked inside of the building, immediately noticing that the prison camp emphasized the "prison" part. Before him stretched rows of cramped cells, each one squeezed with multiple people. Ness grimaced, taking a step back. What kind of treatment was this? Even _he_ felt claustrophobic, and he didn't think that the narrow hallway had everything to do with it.

Ness noticed soon after that the prison camp did not stress sanitation. He spotted human waste piled at the corner of each cell, giving the whole prison a rancid smell. Ness gagged despite his face mask.

How could humans possibly treat other humans this way?

But the part that affected Ness the most was the faces of the prisoners. About half of them looked enraged, ready to provoke a fight at the soonest opportunity. Ness let out an "eep!" when these people set their eyes on him.

The other half looked completely and utterly defeated. Some sat in their cells, completely slouched over with their eyes closed. Others turned to look at Ness with haggard eyes, not even changing their expressions. No hope, anger, or hate.

…Nothing.

In that moment, Ness wanted to escape this place more than anything in the world. But if these people could _live_ here, Ness could walk around until he found Lloyd. He overcame his hesitation and walked forward, reminding himself that the clock was ticking.

"What do you want, kid?" one of the prisoners asked, gripping the bars of his cell with the ferocity of a lion. "Here to taunt us?"

"I'm… looking for a grey-haired boy," Ness said, his eyes wide and his voice shaking. "Did he pass through here?"

The prisoner's face softened a bit.

"Yeah," he said. "He went that way. Just walk down the hall and you should meet him."

"Thanks," Ness said, his heart calming down. Why the sudden change in attitude?

He followed the hall in the direction that the prisoner pointed, eventually arriving at a staircase leading to the second floor. Ness walked up, hearing his footsteps clang on the metal stairs. Upon arriving at the top, he immediately spotted Lloyd conversing with the only prisoner on the floor. Instead of being contained in a cell, this prisoner was suspended by clasps on his hands and feet, both connected to chains. The prisoner looked at Ness and flashed a smirk.

"Well, another Ceresian psion," he said. "And you're just a boy. Are they training you on how to torture effectively?"

"N-No!" Ness protested. "Torture? I could never do that."

"He's telling the truth," Lloyd said. "He was one of the psions who saved me from the cultists. He even appears to have trouble hurting people who want to kill him."

"Ah," the prisoner said, slouching back. "I apologize for the presumption. What's your name?"

"Ness. Er… Nice to meet you, I guess?"

The prisoner laughed. The motion sent some of his chains shaking.

"I know," he said. "It's a little awkward right now. The name's Frederick and I'm an empirist psion. I would shake your hand, but…" he moved his arm around, showing Ness the clasp around his hand. "I don't seem to be capable of doing that right now. Anyways, Lloyd here has been telling me about himself. It's a shame that Frank got away."

"But aren't you an empirist?" Ness asked. "Don't you want Frank Fly to win?"

Frederick shot Ness a dry look.

"I am an empirist," he said, "But I don't like all other empirists. Just like you probably don't like all Ceresians. Frank's a monster. I want him dead as much as the next guy does."

"Oh," Ness said. He had never thought about it that way. "Um… I hate to interrupt this conversation, but I need to tell Lloyd something. Ana and I are going to another town that's infested with cultists. Ana thinks that Frank might be there, and she's determined to stop him again. Are you going to be okay here on your own, Lloyd?"

"Yeah," Lloyd said, waving his hand dismissively. "I'll be fine. I tend to pick up on things quickly."

"Are you sure?" Ness asked.

"Yes," Lloyd said. "I've been on my own for years. I know how it goes."

 _That's what I'm afraid of,_ Ness thought. _After almost dying from the cultists, he should be a mess. That's a serious problem for someone with no friends or family._

"Good luck dealing with Frank," Frederick said. "And how old are you? Fourteen?"

"Fifteen," Ness said.

"Ah," Frederick said with a sad smile. "That's still quite young. They're already turning you into their tool… either that or they're harvesting you and squeezing all of your energy out. Ceres has a history of doing that."

Ness gritted his teeth, not knowing how to deny Frederick's words.

"All right," Ness said. "I guess I'll be off. I'll see you soon, Lloyd!"

"See you," Lloyd replied with a nod.

"Take care, kid," Frederick said. "Don't throw your life away. Not with another 70 years to spare."

"Uh… Thanks?"

"Right," Frederick said, rolling his eyes. "Because we empirists are supposed to be villains, right? It's not possible that _we_ of all people possess the potential to care about other human beings, right?"

Ness blushed. That analysis matched his prior assumptions more closely than he would like to admit.

"…I should go," he whispered. "I don't want to let Frank get away."

Cutting off a sigh, Ness turned around and walked away.

 _Well, that was rather eye-opening,_ He thought, descending into the rancid-smelling lower level of the prison. _It's about time to meet up with my team._

* * *

"You're late," a man said as Ness walked into the meeting room.

The man wore a stern expression, regarding Ness carefully almost as if he were a prisoner himself. Ness looked at Ana, who shrugged apologetically.

 _"I tried to explain it to them,"_ she said telepathically, _"But you know how military officers get."_

"Er… sorry," Ness said.

He looked around the room, seeing only the man addressing him, Ana, and a younger man. Four people, including him. Not much of a squad… but then again, four psions could really pack a punch.

Well, the team was basically three psions. Ness didn't really count.

"Do not make a habit of being tardy," the man growled. "Since we are composed of psions, our unit is quite valuable to this entire operation. We need everyone to pull their own weight."

 _A lecture already?_ Ness thought.

"Anyways, I'm the leader of this squad," the man said. "I'm Captain Strong. It's always nice to have another psion on board."

"He works for the Ceres police," Ana explained, "So he's used to this stuff. That's why Monotoli assigned us to him."

"Right," Captain Strong said. "The secretary is really worried about you kids going out into war. He knows that I'll lecture your ears off. Take some of the fun out of it. But hey, war isn't supposed to be fun."

"And I'm Benjamin Minch," the younger man said. He talked in an elevated tone, like how Ness had expected all ex-nobles to speak when he first came to Ceres. "It's nice to meet your acquaintance. I was not aware that you knew Miss Aniah."

 _Minch?_ Ness thought. _I wonder how closely he's related to Pokey._

"We can chit-chat later," Captain Strong said. "Right now, we have a mission to accomplish and we're already late. Teleport!"

Ness blinked as the world swirled around him. Normally, people gave him more notice when they intended to teleport. He appeared in a village that looked quite similar to Raven's, although it was quite a bit larger. Ness took off his face mask, taking in the less polluted air with a smile.

"This place is pretty quiet for midday," Ana observed. "I know that Vulcanese culture is a little different than ours, but shouldn't there be _some_ people walking around?"

"Indeed," Benjamin Minch replied. "In the other villages that I visited, there was a surprisingly normal amount of activity. Once you escape the cities, the Vulcanese begin to resemble actual humans."

Ness bit down a response to that.

"Although, the people here are probably poorer," Captain Strong muttered. "Eternal work or eternal poverty. Tough choice, and most of these people don't even get to choose for themselves. Now, let's move and see what we can gather."

Ness followed Captain Strong through the silent village, eventually meeting up with a pair of psions.

"Hello, Captain Strong," one of the psions said. Ness recognized him as the man who asked Secretary Monotoli for reinforcements earlier. "I was wondering when you would come."

"I got delayed by the kids," Captain Strong replied. "What is your status?"

"We're fine," the psion standing next to the first one who spoke said. "Walter and I scared off the cultists on our own. I don't know why he felt the need to call for help in the first place."

"You can never be too careful," the first psion, apparently named Walter, said. "And I think Frank Fly only fled because he wasn't at full strength. I couldn't tell for sure, but I think that he was hiding some injuries."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Ana said with a smile.

"So… is there nothing left for us to do here?" Captain Strong asked.

"You could help us calm the locals," Walter said. "Some of them are pretty shaken. It's why the town is dead silent except for us. Most of them went back to their homes."

"They'll get over it," Benjamin Minch said. "We should utilize our efforts to stop the cultists from doing more harm to other villages."

Ness gritted his teeth. Benjamin's tone made it sound like the Vulcanese in this village were worthless!

"Secretary Monotoli said that there were quite a crowd of these cultists," Captain Strong said. "Where did they all go?"

"Most of them scattered when Frank teleported away," Walter said. "We captured a few to interrogate, but I doubt that they'll yield useful information."

"I don't know," Captain Strong said, "If you know the right way to question them…"

Water's face paled.

"I was suggesting that we do that myself," the psion standing next to Walter said, wearing a wolfish grin.

"Indeed," Benjamin said. "These Vulcanese crack easily."

Ness felt like he was about to vomit. Weren't they supposed to be _helping_ Vulcan?

"Torture doesn't work," Ana said. "Not well, anyway."

"Who's been doing this for decades?" Captain Strong asked, turning on Ana. "You or me?"

"Why do you think that the government of Ceres normally doesn't permit torture?" Ana asked. "Because we're humane? No, that has nothing to do with it. If you look at the numbers, then it becomes clear that there are more effective ways of retrieving information."

"Perhaps in some situations," Captain Strong said, "But with these cultists? You have to go hard on them. I know their type, girl. You have to _break_ them to get them to talk."

"But even then, they'll only tell you what you want to hear," Ana said.

"You might have the numbers to back that up, but I know what I'm doing," Captain Strong said. "I know how to get the truth out of them."

Ness could almost _feel_ the tension building in the air. He wanted to support Ana's argument, but anything that he said would probably only make things worse.

"Um… how about we send the prisoners back to the city?" Walter asked. "That way, Secretary Monotoli can decide what to do with them."

Captain Strong's eyes narrowed.

"I suppose that I can accept that," he said. "There's no harm in following protocol. All right; we're heading back to the city with the prisoners!"

"We have another psion keeping watch over the prisoners," Walter said. "I'll grab him and teleport back separately."

"Sounds good," Captain Strong said.

"What about the civilians here?" Ness asked.

"What about them?" Benjamin asked, shaking his head with a smirk. "There's not much that they can offer us. They let the cultists into their village; they can deal with the effects."

Ana rolled her eyes at that, which made Ness feel a little better.

"It's cold, but we gotta use our time efficiently," Captain Strong said. "They'll just have to fend for themselves. We can't hope to console all of Vulcan, so our job is just to eliminate the empirists and cultists. The Vulcanese have to do the rest on their own."

Ness nodded, biting his lip.

"Teleport," Captain Strong whispered.

Ness took one last look at the lonely village before it phased out of existence.

Neglect. Manipulation. Torture. Scorn.

Was Ness okay with being part of a team that followed those principles?


	6. Chapter 5: Ares

**Hey, it's me... And it's still Friday in my time zone, so you guys can't tell me that I broke my schedule. :D**

 **Sorry for the late update, though. I was busy for most of the day visiting a college and I when I got back to edit this I realized that this chapter would be better if I rewrote some parts of it. So I did that. It took some time, and my family wanted to play a game with me. Since I only have like six months left with them before college (ohmygosh that's terrifying), I accepted. So here I am. I didn't get any actual writing done today, which makes me a little sad. :(**

 **Also, I updated my profile with more self-degrading humor and fewer boring definitions. Feel free to check that out if you're bored out of your mind.**

 **Since I'm feeling tired, I'm going to respond to the reviews and call it a night.**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Aw, thanks! :D Yeah, that's one of the really interesting parts for me to write about. Because the protags support democracy and fight against the group trying to reinstate an oppressive empire, but Minerva Carpainter blew up a planet while all that Morgan's guilty of is a little manipulation (at least, so far :D). Stuff like that is really hard to analyze for ethics. Yeah, I do tend to keep a lot under the rug, don't I? xD I'm trying to reveal more and more stuff, but it does just keep raising more questions. Hopefully I can answer all of those mysteries eventually! :) Yep, this chapter is a Ninten PoV. Yeah, my "romance" writing isn't very romantic. xD Part of the reason for that is the fact that I've never been in a romantic relationship (I feel so alone D: ...Just kidding), so it's hard for me to really capture the emotion of it. That's why I portray Ness and Ana as two people who come together more out of need and emotional support than anything else. And yeah, I would never want to sacrifice character interaction for romance. I think that it's possible to do both well in one scene, though. :) See you later!

 **PSIBoy:** Crossing my fingers that I'll have the motivation to read and review R &R tomorrow. I wanted to do it today but I needed to get this out haha. Thanks for understanding. :) Yeah, war isn't pretty at all. :( Especially when you add racism and discrimination to the mix. Yeah, the whole seeing all people on the other side of the battlefield as enemies thing truly terrifies me about war. Since I'm more into critical thinking and problem solving stuff, simplifying anything down to "the other guys are bad guys" makes me really sad. :( Yeah, I agree that Captain Strong has the right to be a little annoyed at Ness (I would be). Still, his experiences as a police officer have left him with some undesirable traits... And nah, Monotoli's not going to chew anyone out. Psions are slippery and everyone knows it. :)

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** Nice to see you! :) Yeah, I think that I did pretty well on finals... Congrats on your midterms! :) In Monotoli's defense, being nice generally isn't a war leader's highest priority. Compared to a lot of other psions, Geldegarde Monotoli really isn't that bad... but that's part of the problem. :( Also, Ceresian culture places more value on respecting your elders. The only reason that Ana can get away with what she says is that she's a psion. And Frank believes (or says that he believes) that Giygas is his savior and will reinstate the empire to free the people from the tyranny of Ceres. But yeah, being super powerful helps when you want to be seen as a god. Yeah, this is a Ninten chapter. Ah, glad that you liked the Ness and Ana conversation. I was worried that it would be super boring. Well, xenophobia is kinda natural. Just look at everyone today who hates Muslims. Is the misguided thing part of the simile? xD Are cinnamon rolls misguided as well?

Again, nasty war camps are nothing new. Compared to human history, this one is actually pretty tame. It's not a death camp like the Holocaust and they're only holding active fighters rather than harmless civilians like the Japanese internment camps in World War 2. I'm glad that you're horrified, though. More people like you would result in less real life war camps. :( Yeah, Lloyd's a weird one. I'm going to leave it at that. ;) Thanks for the typo catches! :D Eh, I'll throw Ben Minch around where I need him. He's a supporting character that represents most upper-class psions.

Wow, that does sound dumb. A blizzard and still school? We had school one day when the roads were icy. Driving on that was not fun. :/ Control-f lets you search a document for a specific word. So if you catch a typo, I just search for that typo and fix it. :) Ah, time management's a problem for everyone. It's a lot easier if you're taking care of your body, though. Eating healthy foods and getting enough sleep (among other things) have positive psychological effects on productivity. :)

* * *

 _I remember playing around in the meadows as a child, before I knew exactly what this universe had become. Grass… Butterflies… you know, stuff from fairytales. A perfect childhood._

 _So I thought._

 _More on the lies that I was fed later. Right now, I have to scribble this down, because I feel like it's killing me slowly._

 _When I was a child, I pretended that I was a famous inventor named Dr. Andonuts. Such a stupid name. So why did I choose it, and why did I model my appearance off of this childhood fantasy?_

 _I guess I wished to go back to a simpler time. Back when Morgan and I didn't know what lay in store for us. When I was a kid, she always called my disposition as Dr. Andonuts silly. She said that people had to go to school to become part of academia (although not with that vocabulary, obviously). Always the logical one, she was. Pragmatic and methodical to a fault._

 _Well, she was dead wrong about that one. I've never been to school in my entire life, and look where I am._

* * *

Ninten tripped on a rock, falling flat on his face. He hid the pain with a chuckle and brought himself to his feet.

"You okay?" Claus asked, his voice echoing throughout the cave.

Ninten paused. Since when had Claus ever been concerned for him? But looking into Claus' face, Ninten could clearly see the worry in his eyes. Strange.

"Yeah," Ninten said with a cough. "I blame the gravity. It's a little different here."

"Not much different," Claus said. "You managed to kill Boras just fine."

"I suppose," Ninten said, his vision still swirling from the pain. "It's just a little hard to focus with the whole inflamed sinuses thing from the gases down here."

"You said that had gotten better!"

"Better doesn't mean well," Ninten said. "But I'm fine now. Let's go."

Ninten took a step forward, almost falling over again. The pain from slamming his face into the stone floor made it even harder to keep his body stabilized.

"…Maybe we should take a break," Claus suggested.

"I'm fine!" Ninten insisted, taking another step forward. "See? I can do this."

"You're an idiot," Claus said with a sigh.

"Well, we need to get out of this place!"

"Why?" Claus asked, challenging Ninten's claim with a smile. "I taught you how to use psionic energy to replace food, so we can stay down here as long as our energy lasts. We could be stuck here for weeks and we'd be fine."

"Actually, the psionic energy doesn't replace the food," Ninten said. "It directly goes to powering our bodies. That's why we don't need water either."

"Whatever," Claus said. A grin spread onto his face. "…Nerd."

"Hmph," Ninten muttered, leaning on a damp, cave wall so that he wouldn't topple over. "Anyways, I don't want to get out of here for us. What do you think that Ana and Ness know about us? What about Paula and Jeff? They probably think that we're dead!"

"You sound like you miss them a lot," Claus said.

"I don't!" Ninten protested. "I just don't want them to worry about us."

"You miss them," Claus said with a knowing smile. "It's in your eyes."

"Maybe you're misreading what's in my eyes, because whenever I look at you I shy away from the beams of light coming from _your_ eyes."

Ninten took a deep breath. Claus was wrong, and he didn't have to get mad about it. He didn't need anyone else. Sure, he wanted to be with other people again, but he didn't _miss_ them… well, maybe a little.

"Anyways," Ninten said. "I'm going forward. You can follow me if you want."

"You won't last ten steps before falling over again," Claus said flatly.

 _He's right,_ Ninten thought. _I'm in no condition to do much of anything. If only there was a way to get rid of the pain, somehow…_

"Wait!" Ninten exclaimed. "I got it!"

"Got what?" Claus asked. "A rock? A psionic crystal? I mean, this _is_ a mine."

"I got an _idea,_ " Ninten said, glaring at Claus. The ginger's smile only grew. "You know about autohypnosis, right?"

"Uh… what?"

"Autohypnosis," Ninten said. "Auto means self and hypnosis means hypnosis."

"I didn't know the second part of the definition," Claus said dryly. "Thanks for the education."

"Shut up," Ninten said. "The point is that autohypnosis means 'hypnotizing yourself.' I should be able to do it, and…"

Ninten closed his eyes. He couldn't quite describe what he did to hypnotize himself. Some people said that hypnosis worked by communicating the unconscious, while others believed that it involved tapping into the part of everyone that existed in the supposed psionic realm, a plane parallel to the physical realm. Still others thought that it boiled down to tricking the mind with the placebo effect. No matter how the process actually worked, Ninten cleared his mind and told himself to stop feeling the pain. After a few seconds, the throbbing sensation disappeared completely.

"Oh man," Ninten said, opening his eyes. "This feels _way_ better."

He stood up straight, no longer needing the wall to lean on. Even the dull pain in his sinuses had disappeared. In that moment, Ninten almost felt like he could float away.

"…Is this some kind of trick?" Claus asked.

"No," Ninten said, walking forward as naturally as he normally did. "I normally use autohypnosis to memorize or forget things, but it works with negating pain as well. Let's see how long I can keep this up."

"Your nose is still bleeding," Claus pointed out, hustling to keep up. "At least, I assume that's your nose."

Ninten padded his fingers on his wet face mask and then held the fingers up to his eyes. Yep; definitely blood.

"Lifeup," Ninten muttered. "Now I'm fine."

"Wait," Claus said. "Let me try that too. How do you do it?"

"The Lifeup or the hypnosis?"

Claus gave Ninten a flat look.

"Just messing with you," Ninten said, "How the hypnosis works, huh? I just kind of _do_ it. I guess just use your psionics to convince your brain not to feel pain. I don't think that you need to use psionics, but it makes the autohypnosis easier."

"Does that really work?" Claus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The evidence is right here before you," Ninten said.

Claus' eyes narrowed.

"What?" Ninten asked. "You don't trust-"

Claus pulled Ninten backwards, hiding them both in a crevice. Ninten struggled as Claus pushed him further in, knocking the breath out of him. A sharp rock dug into Ninten's back. Even though the autohypnosis prevented him from feeling pain, he could still feel _uncomfortable._ After a second of struggling, the beams of lights coming from Claus' went out.

"What are you-"

"Shh!" Claus hissed. "I hear people coming."

"Why should we be afraid of them?" Ninten asked.

Footsteps echoed off of the stone floor, approaching Ninten and Claus. Claus put his hand over Ninten's face mask, likely trying to keep him from talking, but recoiled once he realized that the face mask was still bloody. Ninten couldn't help but laugh, wondering what Claus must be thinking.

"Found them," came a rough voice from outside the crevice.

Purple light coated the passageway in a dull veil. A man with hard features passed by and peeked into the crevice, holding up a crystal that exuded the purple light in one hand and a pickaxe in the other.

"The jig's up," he said, his mouth curving to form a cruel smile. "You kids are coming with me."

"Why should we?" Claus asked. "We're armed and armored. We can take you in a heartbeat."

"You'd never make it out alive if you attacked me," the man said with a low chuckle. "Now come along or you'll regret it."

"Uh… Claus?" Ninten asked. "What's wrong with joining him? We _do_ need help to find our way out of here, right? I mean, unless you happened to learn teleport and never told me."

"That's not the way things work down here," Claus said, his voice icy. Even stuck behind Claus' head, Ninten could practically _see_ the snarl that must be scrawled on his face. "This man belongs to some division or another. Most miners don't see the surface again after they go down here. They spend the rest of their lives in these divisions, trying to climb the ranks before the toxic gases eventually kill them."

"So you already know how to play the game, eh?" the man asked, leaning into the crevice. Ninten wrinkled his nose at the smell of the man's breath.

"I know that you're trying to score points with your superiors by recruiting us," Claus said. "What did they offer you? A day off work and an extra portion of food?"

"None of your psyching business, kid."

"He _is_ right that we'll have a tough time if we lay a finger on him, though," Claus said. "The fact that he's this confident probably means that we're in his division area right now. If the leaders catch wind of some rogue 'miners,' they won't let us go easily. They have a reputation for being cruel so that their victims won't resist."

 _But we're psions,_ Ninten thought. _We could probably take a group of malnourished miners. I guess it would be nice to avoid hurting any more people, though…_

"That's right, kid," the man said. "So you had better come with me, if you know what's good for you." He held his pickaxe up in a way that was probably intended to scare Ninten and Claus.

"No way we're doing that!" Ninten shouted. "Do you think that we're stupid?"

"…We'll do it," Claus said.

"Wait, WHAT?" Ninten asked.

"We don't really have any other choices," Claus said. "…And you don't have to shout."

"That's exactly what you said to the slaver back during the starman attack," Ninten huffed. "Well, besides the shouting part."

"I know what I'm doing," Claus said. "Besides, don't you want to get out of this crevice? I feel like my limbs are going to fall off if they get stuck here for much longer."

"Yeah, but I don't want to join _this_ guy!" Ninten insisted.

"Enough talking," the man said with a snarl. "Come."

"He's losing his patience," Claus said, "And if we kill him then we'll have to kill everyone else who his division sends at us. That's a lot of dead bodies, Ninten."

"I'm _not_ becoming a miner for the rest of my life while these gases slowly kill me!"

"Now you know how it feels for these guys," Claus said, finally stepping out of the crevice. "Maybe you should think about _that_ the next time you buy an appliance that uses Vulcan-mined crystals."

"Unbelievable…" Ninten muttered. "I'm going to die here?"

"Of course not," Claus said. "I have a plan. Trust me."

"You're making that kind of hard right now!"

The man growled, dropping his crystal and grabbing onto Ninten's arm.

"All right, all right!" Ninten said. "I'll come. I don't want dead bodies any more than you do."

"Good," the man said, violently pulling Ninten out of the crevice. He thought that he heard a popping sound from his arm, but he couldn't tell for sure.

"Just out of curiosity," Claus said. "What division do you belong to?"

"Ares," the man answered.

Claus' eyes flashed with recognition.

"I guess it was good that we didn't pick a fight with you," he said. "Not many divisions have actual weapons and armor at their disposal. But… that's good news for us."

"Why is that?" Ninten asked.

"I know exactly where we are," Claus said with an eager smile.

* * *

"Nice cavern, isn't it?" Claus asked as they walked into an open room dimly lit by purple crystals. "There's water here and everything."

"I have eyes," Ninten said dryly. "I can see that."

Claus sniffed.

"This is actually quite nice for a division hub," he said. "There's not even enough fire and brimstone to make it seem like _complete_ hell."

Ninten looked around the rocky terrain of the room, spotting human waste, dirty blankets, and filthy face masks littered around the area. Additionally, many people were lying asleep on the hard floor, not even bothering to use blankets.

"Those people aren't asleep," Claus said, looking Ninten in the eye. "They passed out from the fumes. It occasionally happens even to experienced miners. The division isn't usually sympathetic towards such displays of weakness. It looks like those poor souls are going to lose dinner tonight… and possibly more."

"You talk too much," the man who "recruited" them said, glaring at Claus. "This is your new home now."

"I assume that we follow standard protocol and wait here for someone to come by and explain the rules to us?"

"Pro-to-col?" the man asked, cocking his head.

"We wait here for someone else?" Claus asked

The man nodded, his eyes flashing with recognition.

"I already told the leader about it."

Claus sat down on the jagged, rocky floor as the man left them. Ninten sat down next to him, the ground providing a rather uncomfortable seat. At least it gave his feet a chance to rest. Ninten looked around the cavern, noting the numerous exits.

"Uh… can't we make a run for it?" Ninten asked. "You know, just slip away into the darkness?

" _Now?_ " Claus replied. "They have eyes on us! Besides, the guards would take notice. They might not be smart, but they're not complete idiots."

"Guards?" Ninten asked.

Claus rolled his eyes.

"You're hopeless. Didn't you see the guards hidden in the passageway that lead us in here? They want us to try and run so that they have an excuse to punish us. And we can take them in a fight, but I want to avoid killing people whenever possible."

"There were guards?" Ninten asked. "Like… with weapons?"

"Didn't you hear what I said about the Ares division?" Claus asked. "These guys have pretty solid gear."

"Um… how do you know so much about all of this?" Ninten asked.

"I worked in a psicrystal factory," Claus said, smiling as he noted Ninten's wide eyes. "Yeah, the same ones that are supposedly priceless. Bullshit. A company here manufactures them as cheap as dirt and limits the supply to drive up the price. Anyways, I was the one sent down to pick up the psionic crystals used to make the enchanted psicrystals, which required knowing a lot of the politics down here. I negotiated quite a bit with the leader of this division."

"Huh," Ninten said.

"Nothing else to say?" Claus asked with a grin.

"Couldn't think of anything," Ninten replied. "So if you know the leader of this division…"

"Yeah, he knows me too," Claus said. "But we're not really on friendly terms. He's going to act hostile when he first sees me. But that's part of the plan."

"What plan?"

"Don't have time to explain. You know mind thrust, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Great. Hold this knife."

Ninten gasped as Claus pulled out a jeweled knife. The lustrous steel blade that seemed to glide through air… The tiny, Latin words engraved on the blade… Ninten knew this knife!

"You have Dynal-"

 _Wait,_ Ninten thought, cutting himself off. _The knife's jewel. It's not red. It's… pink._

Ninten blinked, almost expecting the knife to fade away like an illusion.

"Dynaldas replica?" Ninten asked. "I mean, there's nothing _else_ that it could be, right?"

But… Ninten could normally identify replicas, since he knew the original blade so well. This knife looked exactly like Dynaldas, except with a pink jewel in its hilt rather than a red one.

"You seem so scared of being wrong about this!" Claus exclaimed with a laugh. "This is Amourus, knife of love. I would explain more, but we don't have the time."

"What's so special about the knife?" Ninten asked. "It doesn't have psionic enchantments on it or anything."

"Yes it is."

"But I can't detect any signs of psionics in this knife! Enchanted weapons give off a psionic aura."

"Exactly."

"You're making no sense, Claus."

"Just hold it, all right?"

Ninten hesitated.

"It's not going to bite you or anything," Claus said. "…But the same rules that apply to Dynaldas work here. Whatever you do, don't cut yourself with it."

A chill ran down Ninten's spine. He didn't need to be told that.

"Just take the damned knife!" Claus muttered.

Ninten huffed before grabbing this Dynaldas look-alike out of Claus' hand.

"This isn't doing anything," Ninten said.

"It's not supposed to," Claus replied. "Now act casual."

"What does that mea-"

Ninten was cut off by an old man approaching, followed by a younger man who looked like an assistant of some sort. The older man wore psionically enchanted breastplate and carried a psionically enchanted spear, both of which clearly marked him as a leader. Upon spotting Claus, the old man's face tightened and his back stiffened. He held out his spear, pointing it at Claus as he walked forward.

Claus stood up, wearing a falsely sweet smile. Ninten stayed seated, more than happy to let the man focus on Claus.

"Hello, Dragon," Claus said to the old man. "Fancy meeting you here today."

 _Dragon?_ Ninten thought. _What kind of name is that?_

"One-Eye," Dragon said in a monotone, the ends of his mouth twitching upwards to form a slight smile. "I didn't expect you to come back… As a recruit, no less."

 _One-eye?_ Ninten thought, looking at Claus' eyepatch. _Divine Rulers! Claus isn't actually missing an eye, is he?_

Well, that made him feel _great_ about having made fun of the eyepatch earlier. Absolutely psyching wonderful.

"Is that _emotion_ that I spot on your face?" Claus asked. "Now I know that it can't be you, Dragon. Who are you and what did you do with him?"

"Cute," Dragon said, shoving the spear in Claus' face. "And it looks like my grunts are so worthless that they even forgot to disarm you."

Ninten looked at the sword at Claus' hip. Well, that was lucky for them. Dragon pointed his spear at Claus. Okay, maybe not so lucky.

"Give me your sword," Dragon said.

Claus leapt back, unsheathing his blade.

"Try and take it from me," Claus said, a smile dancing on his lips.

Was _this_ Claus' plan? Fight the leader of the Ares division to the death? Why would he take that risk?

No… Something about the plan involved Ninten. He must have given the knife to Ninten for a reason. But what was Ninten supposed to do with a regular knife? Claus seemed to think that the knife was enchanted, but Ninten knew that all enchanted items gave off an aura, no exceptions.

"Claus, Claus," Dragon said, shaking his head. "I'm disappointed in you. We did good business before. You should know that I am not a forgiving man."

Dragon stepped forward; the assistant standing behind him paled. Claus only smiled.

"Be reasonable," Claus said. "I could beat you if I wanted to."

 _"Claus,"_ Ninten said telepathically. _"What do you want me to do?"_

"Oh, you think that I can't detect your psionics?" Dragon spat. "You're not alone with those powers, kid."

The next second, Dragon's sword blazed with psionically created fire. Claus whispered something and flicked his wrists. Acid started dripping from his sword.

 _"Claus?"_ Ninten asked again.

If Claus heard Ninten, he didn't show it. Ninten's heart pounded in his chest. Did Claus really just want Ninten to hang back while he fought Dragon? That didn't seem like much of a plan…

 _No,_ Ninten thought. _He definitely has something that he wants me to do. But what? He would have told me by now if he wanted me to help him with the fight._

"Think about what you're doing, Dragon," Claus said. "Do you really want to take on another psionics-user?"

Dragon snorted.

"A psychic warrior," he hissed, sounding like an actual dragon. "Your powers are not nearly akin to a psion's versatility."

Ninten's mind raced. Did Claus want him to stab Dragon with the knife? Dynaldas worked best on starmen, but maybe this Amourus could instantly kill someone who was stabbed with it. Yes, that must be it. Ninten tensed his muscled, preparing to stand up. Still, something about the whole exchange irked him, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

 _You know mind thrust, right?_

Ninten paused. Claus had asked him that before giving Ninten the knife. But why? What did mind thrust matter? With Dragon's psionic aura, Ninten couldn't come close to killing him instantly. Did Claus just want him to help with the fight by using mind thrust over and over again? No, he would have signaled Ninten if that were the case.

"Maybe not," Claus said, "But do you really want to risk it? Just let us go free and tell your people that they can go too… If they're psions. That will shut them up."

"The thing is," Dragon said, taking a step towards Claus. "Nobody points a weapon at me and gets away with it, one-eye."

Claus stood his ground, holding his sword in a defensive stance. Ninten's heart skipped a beat. Did Claus want him to do something now? None of it made any sense. Something about mind thrust and a mundane knife called Amourus. How did those two relate to each other at all? And Ninten still felt like he was missing something…

 _Wait,_ Ninten thought. _He can detect Claus' psionic aura but ignores mine? That seems rather odd._

Ninten blinked. The knife that was enchanted yet possessed no aura. A power that could only kill instantly when used as a surprise attack. The way that Dragon didn't pay attention to Ninten's psionic aura.

When put together, it all made sense.

"Mind thrust," Ninten whispered, his face mask muffling the words.

Dragon jerked, stiffened, and then crumpled to the ground, his flaming spear tumbling across the floor. Claus knelt down and inspected Dragon's body. He sighed, giving Ninten an appreciative smile.

"…And dead," Claus said. "Can't sense his aura anymore. Good job figuring everything out. I thought that I'd actually have to fight him."

"The knife prevents the holder's psionic aura from being detected," Ninten said, "So he thought that I was just a regular kid. That's why I could surprise him and take him out with mind thrust. He never saw it coming since he had already written me off."

"The knife also prevented him from detecting your telepathic messages," Claus said. "He could have detected mine, which is why I didn't respond. Well, that and my telepathy sucks psych. May I have my knife back?"

"Sure," Ninten said, holding the knife out carefully. "Now that I'm looking for it, I can sense a psionic aura behind your eyepatch that your knife normally masks. Did you enchant your eye or something?"

"Something along those lines," Claus said, taking Amourus from Ninten's hand and putting it in his pocket. "It also blocks all mind-affecting psionics. Remember that orb that we had to hold back in Intro to PSI where we saw the person who we're scared of? I had to pop Amourus' jewel out so that I could go through with that."

"Huh. That knife sounds useful."

"Well, tools are only good as their users," Claus said. "It's good that you figured out how to use Amourus before I actually fought Dragon… Which is his alias, by the way. Don't ask me why he picked that name."

"Yeah, the name 'Dragon' sounds ridiculous," Ninten said. "Still, it's impressive that you came up with that plan to kill him on your own. I thought that I was the clever one and you were the dumb jock."

"It's true that I can't grasp politics or 90% else of what happens on Ceres, but I understand people like him," Claus said, shoving a thumb towards Dragon's corpse. "I know how he thinks and I can use that against him. Speaking of which…" Claus turned to the Dragon's assistant, whose pale face now made him look like a ghost. "Hey, are you his second in command or whatever?"

"Yes, sir," the former assistant said with a nervous smile.

"And you were here all along, right? Hanging out behind Dragon while we tried to intimidate each other?"

"Yes, sir," the former assistant repeated.

"And you criticize _my_ observation skills," Ninten muttered.

The former assistant shot a nervous glance at Claus, but loosened up once he realized that Claus wasn't going to kill anyone over Ninten's comment.

"Since Dragon has found himself afflicted with an irreversible condition called _death,_ " Claus said to the assistant. "Do you want to take over?"

"Er… May I, sir?"

"Yeah. That was kind of the point of me offering."

"I apologize, sir."

"I don't give a psych," Claus muttered. "Do you accept the position?"

"Yes, sir. If you don't mind, sir."

Claus nodded, turning towards the small crowd of miners in the cavern.

"Hey!" he shouted. "You saw how we killed your leader, right? I get to appoint a new leader now. This guy can do it." Claus pointed to the former assistant.

A few disinterested heads around the cavern nodded.

"Congrats," Claus said, shaking the former assistant's hand. "You're now the leader of the Ares division. That's one downside of using fear and exhaustion to suppress people. I detect no loyalty to Dragon whatsoever in anyone here."

"Uh… Thank you, sir," he said.

"You should have no problem dictating your own rule when most of the miners get back, right?" Claus asked. "We don't need to stick around, do we?"

"No, sir. I can manage fine."

"Good," Claus said. Adopting the falsely sweet smile that he earlier used to address Dragon, "While it may seem tempting to send soldiers to kill us off, we're psions. If you anger us… let's just say that we won't be happy. Remember, the only reason that we did this was because we didn't want to kill people. We're perfectly capable of taking this whole division on."

The former assistant's face paled.

"Yes sir," he said, his voice shaking.

"Stop scaring the poor guy," Ninten chided.

"Poor guy?" Claus asked. "He's no different than Dragon. He'll continue to oppress and take advantage of these people. That's how the system works."

The former assistant opened his mouth but promptly closed it, likely having second thoughts about saying something that would anger Claus.

"So why don't we do something about that?" Ninten asked.

"What do you want us to do?" Claus asked. "Stay down here for the rest of our lives? Like you said, we have people waiting for us on the surface. Besides, most of these people aren't going to be around in a year. The turnover rate is insane. These mining companies will take anyone, including women and children. Although you're super into making gender equal, huh? You probably think it's a good thing that they take women."

"I think it's bad, but no worse than taking men," Ninten said. "Nobody deserves _this,_ regardless of age or gender."

"I suppose that's fair," Claus said. "But yeah, there are always desperate people looking for work on Vulcan. Sometimes, the mines are the only option."

"We need to change that once we get back to Ceres," Ninten said.

"I'll do what I can," Claus said. "In fact, I've already been trying to do what I can."

"Excuse me," the new leader said, clearing his throat. "There's no rush or anything, but didn't you say that you wanted to leave this place, sir?"

"That's right," Claus said. "We have a life waiting for us on the surface. We can talk once we're there."

 _So many of these people would give anything for a chance like ours,_ Ninten thought, scanning the room and taking in the hopeless expressions. _Why don't they get a fair shot at life?_

"Thank you, sir," the new leader said, smiling nervously. "Is there anything else that you want?"

"Actually, we'll take Dragon's breastplate," Claus said. "You need some armor, Ninten."

"Fine," Ninten said. "But it had better not weigh enough to slow us down. I'm wimpy, remember?"

"And is that all?" the new leader asked.

"Actually, I have a huge favor to ask of you," Claus said. "It is absolutely vital to our quest, and I don't think that you'll find it an easy task. If you do not succeed, then the consequences will be dire.

The former assistant stiffened.

"Of course," he said, poorly covering up his displeasure with a fake smile. "What would you like?"

"Can you grab an extra face mask from the storage down the hallway?" Claus asked with a smirk. Pointing to Ninten, "His is all bloody."


	7. Chapter 6: Dr Andonuts?

**Hello, everyone! How's everyone's Saturday? Sorry that I didn't get this one out yesterday. A combination of laziness, sickness, and just not feeling like editing contributed to this late update. I'll try to give myself more time to edit future chapters so it won't happen again.**

 **So, we finally get back to Jeff, and after this it's going to be a lot of Ness/Ninten. I'm kinda regretting putting Jeff in the story at all, actually, but I can't really change that now. This story could also dump a lot of its supporting characters, most of them from the Jeff arc. Oh well. As always, please review if you have anything that you want me to know about this chapter. :)**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **A Fan:** Eh, I've always sucked at stuff like writing profile pages. I'm not an interesting person by nature, so the humor is my attempt to make it just a little less bland. :) Really? The surviving without food/water thing doesn't really seem like Dues ex Machina to me. It makes more sense then something like a PK Thunder imo. Surviving without food and water makes sense given the planar mechanics of this world; the body can use raw energy from the psionic realm to sustain itself instead of ATP from food. Compare that with something like electricity, which is essentially a beam of electrons. Where are those electrons coming from? How could you possibly get so many? And why would you have them fall from the sky? Besides, it's not like the plot really changes because of this mechanic. Morgan knew that psions can do that. Otherwise, she would have given them food. :)

But hey, I don't want you to think that I'm attacking your opinion. I definitely appreciate your comment and would like to see more of its kind. I just disagree with this specific one from a logical standpoint. No hard feelings, right? :) Or maybe I'm a complete idiot and I misunderstood what you meant. That's quite possible. :)

Irl hypnosis doesn't actually put people to sleep. It just makes them enter a weird state (although many people think that it's just due to the placebo effect. I dunno what I believe) Hypnotherapy was actually used before anesthesia during surgeries since hypnosis can actually negate the pain pretty much completely (no psionics involved!). Pretty wild, huh? Imagine that you can feel someone drilling a hole into your body but you can't feel the pain. That's really creepy, but I think that it's kinda cool too. :) The hypnosis also explains his slightly loopy state.

Ah, remember that Claus didn't actually _show_ the first dagger that he mentioned. They could be the same. :) Or maybe he did show the dagger, but I can't find a reference to that when reading through these chapters. Maybe I'm just dumb. But either way, the knives aren't necessarily different

Uh... the armor is actually slightly relevant. Besides, it makes logical sense that Claus wouldn't want to pass up good gear, since I already established that the Ares division has stuff like that.

And I laughed so hard at the ILH thing. Even an IH. xD GG indeed. :)

See you later! :D

 **PSIBoy:** Yeah, savage conditions lead to savage societies. But not every place is quite as bad as the Ares division. Yeah, him being in denial was exactly what I was going for. And it's not necessarily pride as much as fear of being weak. Ninten's father is kind of a drill sergeant, so it's natural that Ninten would be a little self-conscious about his strength. That was why he couldn't stop himself from killing Boras, after all. Seems like he still has a lot to learn... or maybe you're right and it is pride. I mean, sometimes characters act in ways that are different from what I've planned. I wouldn't be wholly surprised if you know my characters better than I do. xD

Equal and opposite? I'm afraid that I don't follow. :( Are you talking about the knives? Because I don't really see power as the opposite of love. Yeah, Claus hasn't used PK Love yet. And it does provide a contrast with his personality, huh? Although, Claus doesn't seem quite as hateful as before...

Yeah, that does seem similar... although I definitely didn't take it from there. xD Caves are nice, secluded places for depressing stuff like that to happen. Just like islands floating in the sky are places for mysticism and cities are places for bustling, time-intensive scenes. It's really cool how something as simple as a location can help give a scene its own feel. :)

 **crabbyTomato:** Hey! :D Yeah, Ninten's one of my favorite characters, so I like to write those chapters... although I also like writing Ana. Next Ninten chapter isn't until chapter 9, sadly. And the next Jeff chapter isn't until chapter 14. Struggle of 3 main PoVs and a couple side ones. Well, the nose bleeding stops eventually, so the main downside of using autohypnosis is that people under hypnosis are a little loopy. It's best to use it in drastic situations only. Yeah, unfortunately it was really easy to come up with that environment for the miners because there are so many companies in third world countries that do stuff like that in this world. :/ I know, right? Stuff like Claus actually missing an eye is why I try not to judge people.

When I originally wrote the chapter, I did have Claus explain its function to Ninten but it made the scene afterwards super anticlimactic. xD Yeah, it is a little strange in that the knife contrasts with Claus' personality. Still, there are plot reasons and stuffs. Probably not going to be revealed for a while. Heh, I remember when I expected the entire Ceres fic to be 200k words instead of a trilogy of 3 200k fics. xD Yeah, my bad with the Aurad thing. He originally had a name, but I removed it when making him a more minor character in the chapter because it's easier to remember "assistant dude" than another name. One of the characters in this chapter doesn't have a name for the same reason. I just missed removing his name in that one line, apparently. Control-f is now my last line of defense against that stuff. xD

* * *

 _A part of me wants to go back to a simpler time. Whenever I think about my childhood, I remember laughing and playing. Exploring and learning. It was all a lie. A beautiful lie, yes, but a lie all the same. So why do I still crave the past?_

 _I guess it would be nice just to let go for a while. You know, escape my family, responsibilities… even my identity. I guess that's why I'm Dr. Andonuts now. That's why I'm living in a shack in these wintry woods. Nobody can find me except for the reindeer and birds. I've always felt more alive when I was attuned to nature._

 _So I guess this is all just me dealing with wanting to go back to a simpler time. Here, I'm free to wander and nobody will judge. Compared to my situation back at home, this is quite… liberating. Living through this illogical, childhood dream fills me with a sense of power. I can do whatever I psyching want, thank you very much._

 _But really? "Dr. Andonuts?" Couldn't I have chosen a slightly cooler name as a kid?_

* * *

"So, uhh…" Jeff said, following Poo down the colorful halls of the school. "Where do you think that Paula will be?"

"Probably in her room," the Dalaamian prince answered. "She spends a lot of time in there anyway."

"How do you know that?" Jeff asked. "Are you two friends?"

"Not going to pull out the 'are you a stalker' card?" Poo asked with a soft smile. "To answer your question, sort of. After Ninten left, Paula was feeling lonely, so I decided to talk to her. You know, since I'm always lonely too."

"You are?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah," Poo said. "I'm not really supposed to mingle with you westerners. As the heir to the Dalaamian throne, I am expected to hold up certain… _ideals,_ shall we say? Basically, I'm supposed to be an arrogant asshole. I'm not allowed to have western friends so that you guys can't take advantage of me when I become king."

"That's… pretty cynical," Jeff said.

"My father has never been one to see the positive side of things," Poo said with a shrug. "And in Dalaam, we basically exist as a cog in the machine of family rather than as an individual."

"You seem bitter about that."

"I am."

"…"

"Let's leave it at that," Poo said. "Whining about it further won't help anyone. And here we are."

Poo walked up the door to Paula's dorm and knocked twice.

"Who is it?" came Paula's shaky voice from inside.

"It's Poo and Jeff," Poo said. "We wanted to see if you're okay, after…"

"…"

"Paula?" Poo asked. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Paula said in a depressed tone. "Thanks for checking up on me."

"Do you want us to come in and talk some more?" Poo asked.

"No thanks," Paula whispered. "I'm okay."

Jeff gritted his teeth in a mixture of frustration and sympathy. He knew that he couldn't possibly hope to understand what Paula was going through, but did she really want to face the problem on her own? Jeff knew that if someone that _he_ knew went missing, he would want to talk to somebody else about it.

"Are you sure?" Poo asked. "We're here to help."

"…Yeah," Paula whispered. "I'm fine."

She didn't _sound_ fine.

"All right," Poo said. "Just remember that we're here if you ever need us. And… I'm sorry about Ninten. But don't give up hope, all right? He'll come back for you."

Jeff heard sobbing from the other side of the wall. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the words to express his sympathy.

 _Tony probably could have made her feel better,_ Jeff thought.

"Uh… I'm sorry," Poo said. "I didn't mean-"

"It's fine," Paula said, breaking down into more sobs. "It's not your fault. I just…"

"Need some time to yourself?" Poo suggested.

"Yeah," Paula said. "…Thanks."

"So I guess we should leave you alone, then," Poo said. "Come on, Jeff, let's go."

Poo sighed as they walked out of Paula's earshot.

"That was a disaster," the Dalaamian said. "Although I guess I should have expected it."

"Well, you tried your best," Jeff said. "That's more than I did."

"Sometimes, my best isn't good enough," Poo said, his lips forming into a sneer. "That's what these Ceresians try to teach us, isn't it? You can try your hardest to learn psionics, but if you mess up and aren't able to save someone…" Poo looked at Jeff with icy eyes. "Then it's all our fault."

Jeff didn't know what to say to that.

"It's similar to what they teach in Dalaam," Poo said. Adopting a heavier accent to imitate other Dalaamians, "Don't disgrace the family! You need to get into best school and find best job to make family proud!" Poo shook his head, going back to his own voice. "Naturally, finding a line of work isn't hard for the crown prince, but the school part… heh. My father considers school on Ceres to be an insult, but it is an Earth law that all children with psionic powers go to school here. So of course he takes his anger out on me, since it must be _my_ fault that I was born with the ability to use psionics."

"…But don't you have to get awakened first?" Jeff asked. "Wait… I saw you at the awakening, didn't I? Why were you there if you father knew about that law?"

"We don't like psionics over in Dalaam," Poo said. "To us, it's not so different from witchcraft. So the king of Dalaam always sends his children to be awakened to prove that they're not witches. It's just that this time…"

"Oh," Jeff said. "That doesn't sound pretty."

"It was never _that_ much of a problem," Poo said with a shrug, "Although my father always feared a coup. Anyways, I should probably stop complaining to you. I'm sure that you have better things to do."

"Actually, I don't," Jeff said. "I already finished all of my homework."

"Nerd," Poo teased, a grin slowly slipping onto his face.

"Hey! Not you too!"

"Just kidding," Poo said. "But seriously, you don't need to listen to me complain about a place that's in another galaxy. I'm a big boy; I can deal with it myself."

Right then, Jeff heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Megan Aniah walking towards him. She mostly looked like her normal self, but her face carried a subtle tightness that made Jeff's heart skip a beat.

"Hey, Jeff," Megan said, her voice engaged yet deflated. "Sorry about my little swearing spree back in the hall. My biggest weakness is that I don't have a lot of self-control. And who's this? Another friend? …Oh! Would you happen to be Poo Dalaamas?"

"That's me, ma'am," Poo said with a bow. "Who might you be?"

"Ah, you Dalaamians are so formal!" Megan said. "The name's Megan. Megan Aniah. I have a daughter who goes to this school named Ana… she should be in your grade, if I remember your age correctly. Do you know her?"

"Yes, ma'am," Poo said.

"Please, just call me Megan. Well, unless we're in public. As the Secretary of Psionics, I have a certain image that Minerva expects me to maintain. It's nice to meet you, Poo! Wow. That feels really weird to say out loud."

"You're not the first one to feel that way, ma-Megan," Poo said with a reserved smile. "It's nice to meet you too. I don't know Ana too well, I'm afraid. She mostly spent time with Jeff, Ness, and… Ninten."

"Yeah, I know," Megan said, sighing as her posture turned from upbeat to depressed. "That's why I kind of lost myself when I found out that Ninten went missing. If you think that what I did here was bad…"

"It was actually nice having an important person get really emotional about that," Jeff said. "Most politicians are rather… stoic. You showed that you really do care about the casualties that the war causes."

"Thanks," Megan said, "I just hope that Ninten and Claus make it back. We shouldn't have let them go to Vulcan in the first place."

"Uh… Jeff?" Poo said. "Something in your pocket is glowing."

"Hmm?" Jeff asked, looking down at the neon green and red lights that bled through his clothing. "Oh, my portocom." Jeff pulled the mirror-like communication device out of his pocket. "It's from Tony. Are you two okay if I answer this? He usually doesn't call unless it's urgent."

"Sure," Megan said. "I'm dying to distract myself from this conversation anyway."

"Agreed," Poo said with a nod.

 _Uh… is it really okay to just interrupt the conversation like this?_ Jeff thought, accepting the call. _It seems rude, but I guess if they're fine with it…_ Jeff pushed the green button.

Promptly after Jeff accepted the call, Tony's face appeared in the mirror. He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Jeff.

"Hey, Jeff," Tony said, his voice unusually hard. "I need to tell you something. Are you in private?"

"Uh…" Jeff said, looking up at Megan and Poo. "I actually have people right in front of me, but I think that we can trust them."

Tony's eyes narrowed.

"It's Poo and Megan," Jeff said. "We know them."

"I normally would want you to go somewhere private, but I'm pressed for time," Tony said. "I'll try to explain this quickly. You know some of those books that we got from the staff archives?"

"You went to the staff archives?" Poo asked. "Pardon my ignorance of Ceresian culture, but isn't that supposed to be for _staff?_ "

"I guess Tony's a troublemaker," Megan said with a grin. "Because something tells me that sneaking into that dingy library wasn't your idea, Jeff."

"Yeah, it was all your fault," Jeff said to Tony, unable to keep from smiling.

"You're hilarious," Tony said sarcastically. "Anyways, one of the books had an old map that lead to some chimera labs back when the empire was around."

 _I see where this is going…_ Jeff thought.

"And of course you _had_ to follow it," Megan said into the portocom.

"Yeah, whatever," Tony said. "The point is that I went there. It looked abandoned, so I decided to sneak around…"

 _Because that ended so well the last time we tried it,_ Jeff thought.

"…And you'll never guess who I saw."

"Who did you see?" Jeff asked.

"You have to believe me when I say this," Tony said. He took a deep breath. "I saw your father."

"Working in the _chimera labs?_ " Jeff asked.

"Well, not really working… and the place was pretty abandoned."

"But still?" Jeff asked. "You're sure that it's him?"

"As sure as I can be," Tony said. "It looked exactly like him. And even if that wasn't him, isn't it still weird that someone is snooping around a supposedly abandoned chimera lab?" Tony blushed. "I mean, someone besides me."

"I assume that you don't see any motive for your father to be in such a place?" Poo asked Jeff.

"No, I mean yeah, I mean… you're right. I don't know why he would be there."

"This could be serious," Megan said. "There's not supposed to be anything in those labs. If someone's there, then it could mean that there _is_ something that we should worry about."

"Yeah," Jeff said. "We should check it out."

"Where did the 'we' come from?" Megan asked. "The place used to be a psyching _chimera lab._ It's too dangerous… I know every teenager in the world hates hearing that phrase, but it's psyching true!"

"I agree," Poo said. "This is not our fight, Jeff. I hope that it is not a fight at all, but I am sure that Secreta-Megan can handle this on her own. You're a powerful psion, right ma'am?"

"Yeah," Megan said. "Probably top ten in the universe, maybe top five. It helps me pad my ego."

"Well I'm coming!" Jeff said. "We were told to go there anyway-" Jeff slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Who told you to go to an abandoned chimera lab?" Megan asked.

"Uh… someone."

"Agerate?"

"No. Not him."

"Psych," Megan said. "There _must_ be something there. I should get over there quickly. Don't do anything stupid, Tony."

"You got it, ma'am," came the reply from the portocom.

"Teleport," Megan whispered, promptly disappearing from sight.

 _I have to get over there!_ Jeff thought. _Those labs might have to do with Kumatora's memory. Didn't Ms. Monotoli say something like that?_

Well, Ms. Monotoli wasn't to be trusted, but Jeff's reasons for wanting to go weren't completely altruistic. He wanted to know what his father was doing there, and he didn't want to sit back and wait for the news to come to him.

"I don't like the look on your face," Poo said. "You're about to do something stupid, aren't you?"

"You could say that, yeah," Jeff said.

"Yes!" Tony exclaimed from the portocom. "I've fully corrupted him!"

"Are you planning to run all the way over there?" Poo asked. "Because you can't teleport, and I'm pretty sure that no psion in their right mind would agree to take you over there."

Jeff smiled.

"…You _do_ have a psion who can teleport you over there?" Poo asked.

"Maybe," Jeff said.

"You are having too much fun messing with me, I feel," Poo said. "But even so… I have to come with you. I can't let you die out there."

"Stop being so dramatic!" Tony said from the portocom. "We'll be fine!"

"Teenage confidence confuses me," Poo said, shaking his head. "If something goes wrong, what are you going to do? You don't have PSI and you don't have military training."

"We'll be fine," Tony repeated.

"Gah!" Poo said, shaking his head in disapproval. "I think that talking with you two any longer will push me over the edge. Let's go to the psion who you think will teleport you to the lab, Jeff. I hope for your sake that they don't agree to your foolish request."

"Sure," Jeff said with an eager smile. "Let's head out!"

* * *

"Hey, Mr. Agerate," Jeff said, walking up to the teacher in the school's splotched hallways. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"Wait," Poo said. " _He's_ the psion who you think will agree to teleport you to the abandoned lab?"

"Why hello there," Mr. Agerate said to Jeff with a welcoming smile. "I see by the expression on your face that you've found yet another way to get yourself into trouble."

"See?" Poo asked. "Everyone thinks that this plan of yours is silly, Jeff."

"Tony spotted my father at an abandoned chimera lab," Jeff told Mr. Agerate, pointedly ignoring Poo's comment. "So Megan went there to check it out, but she wouldn't let me come with her."

"And you think that I will?" Mr. Agerate asked.

 _Yes._

"I know that you're the only psion who would consider it," Jeff said. "Please, I hardly ever get to see my father; he refuses to tell me what he works on. If I can learn something about him firsthand by going there… I really want to. I mean, it's abandoned. It shouldn't be dangerous, right?"

"That's what they said about children signing up to fight on Vulcan," Poo muttered. "And since when was Mr. Agerate a psion?"

"…This really seems to mean a lot to you," Mr. Agerate observed.

"It does!" Jeff exclaimed. "Please, let me go over there. I really want to find out more about my father."

Mr. Agerate tilted his head, adopting an intense look and breathing a sigh. Jeff knew that he was seriously considering the idea.

"Sir," Poo said. "Please tell me that you're not actually _thinking_ about this."

"I can empathize with your feelings, Jeff," Mr. Agerate said. "…I guess you can come. You have to stick by me at all times, all right?"

"Yes!" Jeff exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. "Thank you so much!"

"Mr. Agerate," Poo said. "With all due respect, you really should not let someone as inexperienced as Jeff enter this potentially dangerous situation."

"I thought that you would support Jeff's decision," Mr. Agerate said. "Since you have a severe case of not listening to your elders."

 _Wait, what?_ Jeff thought. _Poo's the most rule-abiding person I've ever met._

"I may be rebellious, but I'm not stupid!" Poo said. After a second, his eyes narrowed. "And how did you know about that?"

"Oh, you never told me?" Mr. Agerate asked. "I'm sorry. I thought that you did."

"You read my mind, didn't you?" Poo asked softly. "You saw how much I hate my father."

"Only when I was ordered to," Mr. Agerate said. "I am sorry for that."

"It's all right," Poo said, taking a deep breath. "…I want to come with you and Jeff. Unlike him, I can protect myself, and I can also protect him. I won't let Jeff die just because he is foolish."

 _I think you've called me a fool enough times,_ Jeff thought, rolling his eyes.

"Sure," Mr. Agerate said. "I'm much more comfortable to let you on board, since you seem like the cautious type. I think that Jeff could learn a thing or two from you."

 _Hey!_ Jeff thought. _I can be cautious too!_

"Much appreciated," Poo said. "Now, shall we teleport over there? I would like to get this over as quickly as possible."

"Right," Mr. Agerate said. "Jeff, could you call Tony? I need to get a view of the area to teleport there."

"Sure," Jeff said, typing in Tony's number using the buttons on the side of the portocom. "Now we just need to wait for him to accept."

Moments later, Tony's face popped on the screen. Jeff couldn't tell for sure, but he thought that the background looked a little different. He could vaguely see bars, arranged into what looked like prison cells, located in the background.

"Hey, Jeff," he whispered. "What is it this ti-" Tony cut himself off, staring at Mr. Agerate with an icy expression. Jeff knew that Tony blamed Mr. Agerate for their encounter with Giygas down in the staff archives… which was partially true.

"Why hello, there, Tony!" Mr. Agerate said in a falsely sunny tone. "You seem absolutely _thrilled_ to see me."

"Hilarious," Tony said, his eyes still locked onto the teacher.

"Uh…" Poo said, looking at Mr. Agerate. "You're okay if he looks at you that way, sir?"

"Yeah," Mr. Agerate replied, waving his hand. "I mean, what am I going to say? Yell at him for looking at me? Besides, he has a decent reason for acting this way, although I would like to point out that _you_ were the one who snuck in on _my_ meeting."

"You were summoning an alien demon," Tony hissed.

"Summoning?" Mr. Agerate asked. "I did call him, but not from another plane or anything like that."

"Mm hmm," Tony said, looking unconvinced.

"If you don't mind me asking," Poo said. "What _happened_ with you three?"

"I'll tell you later," Jeff said. "I don't want to be rude, but could we please teleport over there? I'm dying to know if my father's really there."

"Sure," Mr. Agerate said. "Teleport."

The world around Jeff faded out of existence. The next second, he found himself standing in a dimly lit room. Garbage lay scattered across the ground; pools of liquid covered the floor in giant splotches. Jeff told himself that it was just water, but he couldn't tell in the dim light. After being teleported, Jeff now stood right behind Tony, who jumped in surprise.

"Ack!" Tony said, turning around and breathing heavily. "Don't… scare me like that."

"This place is spooky, isn't it?" Mr. Agerate asked.

In response, Jeff heard something growling.

"I'm… not scared!" Tony protested. "Don't roll your eyes at me, Jeff! I'm not; I swear it!"

"Quiet," Poo hushed. "Someone is coming."

"Ah," came a male voice from the far side of the room. "The Dalaamian has sensitive ears."

"And psionic training," Poo whispered, putting himself in a defensive combat stance.

Jeff looked up at where the sound came from and saw a silhouette of a man. He couldn't make out any more than that.

"Why hello there," the silhouette said. "Long time no see. Mr. Agerate, is it?"

 _What?_ Jeff thought. _Mr. Agerate knows this person?_

"You're supposed to be dead," Mr. Agerate said flatly. "They said that you died when the nuclear warheads fell on Aphrodite.

"Well," the silhouette said, taking rhythmic steps forward. "I didn't."

"Thanks for the news flash," Mr. Agerate muttered.

"My, my," the silhouette said in a patronizing tone. "You've developed a sense of humor. I never thought that you had it in you. The human mind is quite… malleable, is it not? So fascinating, how easily we change…"

"I've learned to embrace that," Mr. Agerate said. "While it seems that you have not. Why are you here, of all places? And have you seen Dr. Andonuts?"

"What if I have seen Dr. Andonuts?" the silhouette asked. "Why do you care?"

 _"Listen,"_ Jeff heard in his mind. _"This man is dangerous. I might have to teleport you out at any second."_

Jeff's body immediately tensed. Now that he knew that Mr. Agerate might have to send him away in the blink of an eye, he tried to mentally prepare himself.

"I can hear that," the silhouette said. "If I wanted to harm your little companions, I would have done so already. It surprises me that you brought more children with you, forsaken one. Although the Dalaamian can hold his own, it seems. Nice combat stance. Wind's Breath is particularly good at making sure that you can dodge any funny projectiles that I sling your way."

Poo didn't respond, but Jeff could tell that the man's words irked him.

"And you think that I can't hold my own?" Tony asked.

"That doesn't matter," Mr. Agerate said, adopting a commanding tone. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, just checking up on whether or not this lab is operational," the silhouette responded. "And guess what? It is. A real shocker there. Minerva Carpainter, hiding something nasty from the public? My oh my, that seems to happen every day."

Now Mr. Agerate seemed like the irked one.

"So," the teacher said. Jeff could tell that he had to force himself to keep his tone neutral. "Will you let us pass, then? We're looking for Dr. Andonuts. Tony spotted him here."

"I suppose that we aren't technically enemies, Agerate," the silhouette said. "But you work for Minerva, yes?"

"And you're still an empirist?"

"Still Boras' son," the silhouette answered. "And you're still Minerva's-"

"I do work for her, yes," Mr. Agerate said. "But the war's over. Your father is dead."

Jeff exchanged a look with Tony. Even in the dim light, he could make out Tony's wide eyes. Boras Lorune had a _son?_

"Right," the mystery man said. "My cousin Ninten took care of him. The old fool should have known. He was too psyching nice for his own good. Sometimes, you have to crush your opponents. That's just the way that it goes. Props to Minerva for starting a war to eliminate the most peaceful empirist leader in our group's history, though. I can really see the moral thinking behind that one."

"You empirists are terrible people!" Tony exclaimed. "Stop trying to defend yourself!"

"Oh my," the mystery man said in mock surprise. "Truly, I am hurt."

"Stop making fun of me!"

"It's so hard not to jab at the mindless little drones every once in a while," the mystery man said. "Speaking of which, Minerva's using _actual_ drones to hunt down empirists in Vulcan, yes? Those immortal green blobs? It makes me wonder who the _real_ terrorists are. Come back in a year and tell me how that's going, hmm?"

"Shut up!" Tony shouted. "Filthy anarchist!"

"Tony," Mr. Agerate said. "Don't let him get to you." To the silhouette, "Regardless of our difference in ideas, we come here in peace. Will you let us pass, or does this need to come to force?"

"We both know that you can take me in a fight, Agerate."

"So you'll let us pass?"

"Hm, how about… no? Does that sound good?"

Suddenly, the lights flicked on, blinding Jeff for a second. After his eyes adjusted to the light, he took a look at the former silhouette of a man. He wore sleek, black clothing and a smile to match. Jeff believed everything that he said about being Boras' son; the man basically looked like a middle aged version of Ninten.

A growl sounded. Jeff glanced at the sides of the room and gasped. The bars that he previously made out in the background _were_ cells, and behind them stood wolves. Vicious, snarling wolves. He looked at the other side and found an identical array of cells.

"Welcome to the chimera labs," the mystery man said, spreading out his arms as if he were introducing them to a royal palace. "And how would you like to get a glimpse of what these chimeras can do?"

"The wolves are chimeras?" Jeff asked. "They look normal to me."

"What did you expect them to be, a horse with eight spider legs?" the mystery man asked, forming his lips into a condescending sneer. "I thought that you were smarter than that, Jeff. This isn't a five year old's storybook land."

"I heard about this," Poo whispered. "They're genetically engineered."

"Right!" the silhouette said. Poo scowled at the approval. "Exactly, my Dalaamian friend. Psionics allow us humans to splice genes quite easily, actually. These wolves are bigger, stronger, more aggressive, venomous…"

"This is going to get hairy," Mr. Agerate whispered. "And not just because there are wolves involved. Teleport!"

Jeff didn't have time to respond before the world around him faded away. He appeared in a relatively secluded forest spot near the school. The smell of fresh air was a definite improvement over the dingy lab. Birds chirped from the trees above, their vibrant tunes only making Jeff feel out of place.

"I wish that Mr. Agerate would give us a warning when the plans to teleport us like that," Jeff said.

"He kind of did," Poo whispered. "I… just hope that he's all right."

Naturally, Mr. Agerate had teleported Poo and Tony out along with Jeff.

"He'll be fine," Tony muttered. "He summoned Giygas; he can take on a stupid pack of wolves."

"Speaking of which," Poo said. "You still need to tell me about that. What happened?"

"…I guess I can tell you," Jeff said softly. "I'm still worried, though."

"About Agerate?" Poo asked.

"No," Jeff said. "About Megan. We haven't heard from her since she decided to go off to the lab on her own."

"She'll be fine," Tony said. "Do you remember what she did to those starmen during the attack not too long ago? She literally rocked their world. I think that she can handle herself, Jeff."

"Tony's right," Poo said with a supportive smile. "She even admitted that she was probably one of the ten strongest psions in the universe, and she doesn't seem the type to brag. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

 _Whenever I hear that, I can't help but feel that something's about to get worse,_ Jeff thought.


	8. Chapter 7: Faldin

**So it's already been almost two months since I posted this story. Man does time fly when I do absolutely nothing at all. xD**

 **I hope that everyone's doing well today. I mean, it's friday and most of us should have Monday off. Can we get any more win in a single day? :D ...But then again, there's going to be some people who just aren't feeling it today. If that's you, then I hope that you're dealing with whatever's getting you down.**

 **This is the first split-POV chapter in this entire fic (although it won't be the last). Remember when pretty much every chapter used to be split-POV? I remember a chapter of City of Progress that was like 5 POVs. It seems like such a silly thing to do now. Looking back at City of Progress, my writing has gotten a lot better... at least, I like to think so. Maybe I'm horrible and I just don't know it. xD Always a possibility.**

 **Also, I hope that you guys have something fun planned for Valentine's day! *Hears frantic rushing in the background to put something together* Phew, sometimes it's nice being single. ;) Now that I think about it, I really don't have any responsibilities at all now that I'm a 2nd semester high school senior. Uh... I'm not trying to brag or anything. That realization just came to me. I'm not trying to be mean to you I promise. :(**

 **Anyways, the chapter. A lot of it is just stuff that I needed to put somewhere and didn't have the opportunity to do so before now. So yeah, not a lot of plot. :( And this story is already moving more slowly than I would like. Curse you, 3 big PoVs!**

 **Also, thank you to those of you who have been keeping up with this monotonous fic and reviewing it. :) It really means a lot to me that people are actually taking the time to reflect and respond to what they read. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to write a review! I promise that I won't bite. :)**

 **...And if I** ** _do_** **ever say something that hurts your feelings, please tell me. I probably don't know that I'm doing it.**

 **Now, onto review responses:**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Yep, Silhouette guy is dude from the portrait. :) Heh, something tells me that you might be right about your Mr. Agerate theory... since the way that he stopped mystery silhouette guy from stating his relation to Minerva was definitely intentional. But whether your theory is determined right or wrong won't be seen for a while. Sorry :( Yeah, Dr. Andonuts is supposed to be a little enigmatic. And speaking of which, he's not the only one in the lab...

 **PSIBoy:** Ah, good. I thought that I totally screwed something up by accidentally making the knives opposites or something. xD Yeah, there are only so many ideas to go around, and only a small subset of those actually work in a story setting. It's natural that there would be some overlap. Yeah, Poo's a character that needs a lot more explanation but I'm struggling to find the space for it. It's true that people tend to see their own cultures favorably, so I'll have to find some way to explain that. Nice catch. And they weren't being completely serious when blaming Tony. :) Glad that you found it amusing.

Heh, I don't think that anyone _did_ like Boras' son from that scene. And yeah, the contrast between the chimeras in this fic and the ones in Mother 3 was intentional. :) I try to make this story less whimsical and more realistic, so gene splicing makes more sense in that context. Now that I think about it, I probably should have referenced more GMOs used in regular life on Ceres. This is why it's good to plan things out. Yeah, I know that I'm juggling a huge cast, and I'm going to introduce even more new characters when the plot needs it. Still, I'm working on thinning out the cast (take that how you will :D). I think that I can manage it if I divide the story up into more scenes where each one has fewer characters, but that takes a long time to write. We'll see. :) That's why it's nice to write fanfiction; I don't know if I would risk something like that if I wanted to make money off of this. See you! :)

* * *

 _Different body, different personality._

 _Once, I would have scoffed at those words. I would have said something like "What's on the outside doesn't change who I am on the inside!" Man, I was a stupid little kid. It's all so obvious to me now._

 _We act based on how we see ourselves. As a kid, people called me a troublemaker, so I perceived myself as a goofball to justify my lack of regard for the rules. All of my jokes stem from my own self-imposed identity of someone who just doesn't care._

 _So now that I'm out in the woods,_ _I want to think that I'm more attuned to my inner self, but I'm pretty sure that's a load of bullcrap. We're biological machines. Everything that we do is either directly or indirectly related to survival or reproduction._

 _My actions change to match the skin that I now wear. Dr. Andonuts is a scientist, and scientists work hard. Therefore, I work hard. It's typical for me to spend eight or nine hours in a row on a project without eating or drinking. And I don't have to force myself to do that; it just comes naturally._

 _But get me back in my "real" form and I won't be able to complete a chore to save my life._

* * *

 _Oh, psych,_ Megan thought, looking at a group of giant scorpions inside of a bug cage. _Those don't look normal._

She resisted the urge to barf. Such loathsome creatures. She scanned the rest of the room, using her psionics to provide light. Thankfully, she spotted no chimeras besides the oversized bugs in the cage next to her. A psionic aura in the distance beckoned her forward. How much longer would she keep chasing the aura through the chimera labs before giving up?

 _I told Tony not to do anything stupid,_ she thought. _Did he listen? …Maybe not. I swear, I would be so much harder on these kids if Ana didn't spoil me by acting like an angel._

 _…Maybe too much like an angel for her own good._

Megan sighed. She would _not_ think about what Agerate told her. Ana was fine. No cause for concern.

"Not going to follow me any longer, _Secretary_ Aniah?" came a voice that Megan recognized from the other side of the room.

Megan looked up, spotting Morgan Lorune. So _she_ carried the psionic aura that Megan chased. A wave of conflicting emotions washed over Megan, leaving her speechless.

"And not even a hello for your dear friend?" Morgan taunted. "I remembered how much you loved arachnids, so I made a point to lead you through here. Those chimeras are rather… vivacious, aren't they?"

Megan looked back at the cage of scorpions. It appeared that a few of them were trying to break the bars with their pincers. Even more disturbing, Megan could detect some bending in the wire. It was clear that their efforts were not in vain.

"Yeah, 'vivacious' is not exactly how I'd put it," Megan said.

Morgan flashed an icy smile. She walked towards Megan, kicking a couple of cans out of the way.

"You look like you've seen better days," Megan said, resisting the urge to take a step back. "And what happened to your psionic aura? It's so… weak."

" _That_ is from overchanneling," Morgan said. "Since your precious friend tried to wipe out my entire village."

"Minerva?" Megan asked with a nervous chuckle. "I'm pretty sure that she hasn't fallen that low."

"Think again," Morgan said, walking up to the cage of scorpions. "It's okay, darlings," she said to the arachnids. "I know how you feel. Misjudged, trapped, manipulated, betrayed. We'll get our revenge soon."

"What _happened_ to you?" Megan asked, recoiling in disgust. "This isn't normal, Morgan."

"Oh, but didn't you say that empathy is one of the most important attributes a human can have?" Morgan asked. "I'm practicing my empathy with the animal kingdom."

"Why did you just disappear two years ago?" Megan asked, gritting her teeth, "Why do you just show up now all of the sudden? And what did you do to Ana?"

"So many questions," Morgan said, dusting herself off. "I will do my best to answer them in a logical manner."

 _I doubt that anything you do is "logical" anymore,_ Megan thought grimly.

"Now," Morgan started. "Do you remember the mission that Minerva and I embarked on? To obtain the needles on Aphrodite?"

"Yeah," Megan said. "I learned recently that she can remotely control ectoplasmic soldiers with those needles."

"Ooh, you sound bitter," Morgan said with a dainty smile. The madness in her eyes made Morgan's doll-like appearance all the more disturbing. "You're probably going to be annoyed by what comes next. So you know the Osohe legend, right? That the needles on Aphrodite were keeping a dragon asleep and that anyone who pulls the needles passes their heart to the dragon?"

"…Are you telling me that legend is _real?_ " Megan asked.

"Of course not," Morgan said, waving hear hand dismissively. "A dragon sleeping under the ground? Give me a break, Megan. That's ridiculous."

Megan breathed a sigh of relief.

"However," Morgan said, a smile creeping back onto her face. "We should have proceeded with caution. Those sorts of legends often have kernels of truth, or so the overused metaphor goes. It turns out that the needles _were_ keeping something locked up inside of Aphrodite." Morgan walked up and whispered in Megan's ear, "Giygas."

 _G-Giygas?_ Megan thought. _No… no. That thing was locked away in Aphrodite?_

Megan took a step away, trying to calm her pounding heart. Having a heart attack right now would be downright embarrassing, and with the amount of fat in Megan's diet…

"His little visit a few days ago makes more sense now, doesn't it?" Morgan asked. "And it explains why the needles are powerful enough to control Minerva's soldiers. They were originally inserted to control _Giygas_ and keep it from doing anything. Of course something that powerful could turn blobs of goo into pawns."

"But in that case, who controlled the needles to keep Giygas trapped before Minerva?" Megan asked. "I mean, none of the Osohe were alive to do it. You're not making sense today."

Morgan paused, cocking her head.

"I never really thought about who could be controlling Giygas," Morgan said. "But it doesn't matter. So what do you think Minerva did after releasing Giygas, knowing that it could destroy human civilization in the blink of an eye?"

"I think that you're lying," Megan said.

"She decided to nuke the _psych_ out of Aphrodite," Morgan hissed, grabbing Megan's shoulder and shaking it. "My family lived there, Megan. My best friend dropped nuclear bombs on my family. I had a husband and two sons. Dead. It didn't even accomplish anything. Giygas is still here."

Morgan sighed, her shoulders drooping over.

"That's what I told Ana," she whispered. "I told her how Minerva nuked Aphrodite. That's why she went hysterical. I wanted… to show her the truth, since she's a sheltered little-"

"You will _not_ speak that way about my friend or my daughter!" Megan shouted. "Minerva would _never_ do that, and I don't know what you were going to say about Ana, but I can tell you now that it's not true. They're both wonderful people, and nothing that you can ever say will change that."

"So loyal," Minerva said, sneering in disgust. "It blinds you, just like it blinded me. Don't you think that I worshipped Minerva too? So strong, so understanding, yet so smart and savvy… She was the older sister that I always wanted. I would have _died_ for her, Megan. And what did I get? A batch of nuclear weapons sent to wipe out my planet!"

Looking at the intensity in Morgan's eyes, Megan couldn't help but feel her doubts about Morgan's sincerity fade away like morning mist.

"You… you're psyching serious, aren't you?" Megan asked, bringing her hands up to her heart. "No… You have to be lying. This can't be real."

"I went through that same phase of denial," Morgan said with a smile. "Trust me; you'll see the truth before long."

 _NO!_ Megan thought. She couldn't end up like Morgan, empathizing with scorpions and inflicting pain on others because she saw them as privileged. _I… need to talk to Adam about this. But I was the one who always knew what to do in our marriage! What happens now that I'm the one who needs help?_

"I… see that thought distresses you," Morgan said. "I suppose that I cannot blame you. Very well, I shall leave you alone to mull over the truths that I speak. Farewell, dear friend… If that term even remotely applies anymore. Teleport!"

After a second, Morgan faded from existence. With her aura no longer downing out everything else, Megan sensed a mind shield not too far behind her. Mind shields covered up a psion's aura, but they themselves could be detected, although it took far more skill. With a start, Megan realized that she recognized the mind shield's make. It almost certainly belonged to…

Mr. Agerate dashed into the room, slowing to an eventual halt.

"What are you doing here?" Megan asked, shoving her emotions behind a mask of serenity. "Shouldn't you be teaching something?"

"You seem distressed," Mr. Agerate said. "And I detected another psion here… Morgan?"

"How did you know?" Megan asked.

"Her brother was here. He's gone now."

"What?" Megan asked, blinking rapidly. "She has a brother?"

"Yeah. I don't think that he's completely sane."

"I don't know that I'd rate Morgan much higher, honestly," Megan whispered. "You're right. She admitted to messing with Ana's mind. That makes me so _angry._ "

"Is that the only reason why you're angry?" Mr. Agerate asked.

Megan immediately turned her head, looking the teacher straight in the eye. He couldn't _possibly_ know about Morgan's sob story, right?

"Ah, psych," Mr. Agerate said, shaking his head. "Morgan told you about _that,_ didn't she?"

"N-No!" Megan protested.

"She did. It's all true. The needles, the nukes, everything."

Megan gritted her teeth. Lies, lies… They were both lying. There must be some kind of ploy…

"I… see that you're probably not in a condition to have an extended conversation," Mr. Agerate said, "So I'm just going to say what I need to. I'm leaving. I might be gone for weeks."

"You… can't do that. You have a job."

Why did it require all of Megan's willpower to say such simple words?

"I'm a powerful psion," Mr. Agerate said. "I can always find work, and this is important. I have unfinished business."

Megan nodded, not caring enough to protest.

"I'm… sorry about this," Mr. Agerate said. "About everything. You deserved a better friend than Minerva. Teleport."

As Mr. Agerate faded away, Megan Aniah let her tears of anger flow freely. Morgan Lorune thought that she could just waltz in and turn Megan's world upside down like it was nothing.

And she was right.

* * *

Ness found himself standing in a dimly lit dungeon, scattered with bits and pieces of garbage that made the whole place reek. He looked around, seeing that only a single cell was occupied. Taking tentative steps forward, Ness squinted his eyes to get a better view of the prisoner.

 _It's… Lucas. I must be in Magicant._

"Oh, hello," Lucas said. Even in the dim light, Ness could tell that Lucas' body had reverted back to its inconsistent state, making him look like a different person every second. "I was wondering if that would work. I haven't been able to reach you recently. Your own problems didn't leave your mind with much room to hear my pleas."

Ness bit his lip. Always too weak. Never enough. Ness needed strength more than anything else.

"Why are you here in this dungeon, if this is your mind?" Ness asked, hearing his voice echo off of the walls. "And you're getting worse. I even saw your face before, but now your body is back to changing constantly."

"Oh," Lucas said, sounding unconcerned. "That doesn't surprise me. I'm here because of Fassad. He was the one that Boras mentioned, remember? He trapped me here and he's sapping… something from me. I don't really understand what's going on."

"Fassad?" Ness asked, looking around at other cells. None of them appeared to be occupied. "Yeah. I think that I saw him before. But how can he keep you here? Didn't you say that you could go wherever you wanted?"

"Right," Lucas said. "I can normally _will_ myself to appear somewhere else. But in this cell, it doesn't work for whatever reason."

"I might be able to get you out!" Ness said. "Uh… I just need a way to break the bars. Give me a second."

"It's no use," Lucas replied. "Fassad knows what he's doing. You won't be able to get me out of here."

"There has to be a way!" Ness protested.

"There isn't," Lucas said. "Now, I have a few questions to ask you."

 _How can he give up so easily?_

"All right," Ness replied slowly. "I guess I can answer questions." He looked around the room. "Will there be a problem if somebody finds me down here?"

"No idea," Lucas said. "Now, onto the questions…"

 _Wow, thanks for the reassuring answer,_ Ness thought. After a moment, he felt a pang of guilt. _His problems are worse than mine. I think that I can cut him some slack._

"What happened to Boras?" Lucas asked. "I tried calling on him, but I couldn't find his cognitive essence."

Ness gulped. With everything that had happened with Frank Fly, Ness had almost forgotten about the empirist leader. Of course, thoughts of Boras came in tandem with thoughts of Ninten. A dull pain started gnawing away at Ness' heart.

"Dead," Ness whispered. "Dead and buried. We fought on different sides of a battle that took place a few days ago. We didn't see each other, but…" Ness took a deep breath. "He didn't make it."

"I see," Lucas said in a neutral tone. "Is that why your mind has been so unstable recently?"

"Wait, that's it?" Ness asked. "You trusted him, felt inspired by him, listened to him, and now he dies and all that you say is 'I see'?"

"Oh, right," Lucas said. "I'm supposed to feel something now that he's gone."

 _This isn't good,_ Ness thought. _He's even worse than before._

"I need to help you, Lucas," Ness said. "I'm sorry for abandoning you for these past few days. I shouldn't have left you alone."

"This isn't your responsibility," Lucas pointed out. "Judging by your words, I assume that my lack of emotion is getting worse?"

Ness nodded, feeling his heart crawl up into this throat.

"Well, that's not really your fault," Lucas said. "I shouldn't need anyone in the first place."

"Needing someone isn't a bad thing!" Ness protested. "I mean, there's someone in my life who I need."

"Really," Lucas said. "I always pictured you as strong and independent."

Ness nearly laughed.

"So what's this person like?" Lucas asked.

"Her name is Ana," Ness said, biting her lip. "And she helps me get through a lot of my troubles. She's patient, kind, strong, and understanding. With her, I feel that no matter what goes wrong, she'll still be there to help me out. Even if she has to show up battered and bleeding, she'll be there for me."

"She really seems to mean a lot to you," Lucas observed.

"Yeah," Ness said. "And I love her. I sometimes feel bad that she gets saddled with someone useless like me, but I think she's okay with it. I want to be that person for you, Lucas."

Lucas didn't speak for minutes. Ness stood there, fidgeting nervously. Had he said the wrong thing?

"I can see the twisted logic in your words," Lucas finally said. "And I _did_ agree to try things your way. I guess we should… hmm?" Lucas cocked his head. "Someone's coming. You may want to leave."

"Leave Magicant?" Ness asked. "I don't know how to do that!"

"No," Lucas said. "Just leave this dungeon. Visualize yourself going _out_ of this place and you'll be free."

Ness heard footsteps approaching the room.

 _Thump, thump._

His heart started to pound in his chest to the point that he wondered if it was louder than his talking.

"It's that simple?" Ness asked. "I just think about being outside of here and I'll escape?"

 _Thump, thump._

"Yes," Lucas said.

 _Thump, thump._

"All right, I'll try," Ness said, putting on a melancholy smile. "I'll come back to talk to you more. We'll… see each other soon."

 _Thump, thump._

The footsteps neared the door. Ness didn't know what would happen if a guard found him, and he decided that he would prefer it to stay that way. He closed his eyes and focused on being outside of the dungeon. He didn't picture an particular image in his mind; he just thought about being _out._

Ness opened his eyes to find himself standing in an entirely different location.

* * *

The scene before him presented a stark contrast to the dark, dingy prison that Ness stood in just seconds earlier. Ness found himself standing on a street made of glass. Fish swam in tanks located directly under the transparent street, streaks of red darting right under where he stood. As he looked further along, he realized that the _entire street_ held an aquarium underneath. And was that music playing? But Ness was outside! The music's vibrations ran up Ness' body, leaving him oddly satisfied.

But none of that held his interest long. Not compared to the buildings.

Instead of the orthodox, straight-lined architecture that was normal to Ness, all of the buildings in front of him incorporated curvature in their design: some were spherical with stands to keep them from rolling while others consisted of general box shapes with wavy lines.

All of them were made out of stained glass, stained glass that formed collages so otherworldly that Ness could only stare and gawk. The light from the sun (should he call it the sun if this wasn't Earth?) passed through the buildings, painting abstract images where it landed on the ground. Since all of the buildings were made out of stained glass, Ness could easily see through them. He looked at a particularly colorful building and saw a woman changing inside.

Ness blushed. Maybe this place wasn't so pristine after all.

 _Does this place exist in Lucas' mind?_ Ness asked. _Because I don't know how he would have seen something like this._

Ness shrugged inwardly. Surrounded by so much beauty, he found it hard to care.

 _It wouldn't hurt to explore a little, right? I can always just warp out._

Ness checked his psionic energy and found it slightly depleted; apparently using Lucas' technique to escape certain places required a bit of psionic energy. Still, Ness had plenty of fuel left in his psionic tank. And was he imagining things, or were the vibrations from the music actually refilling his psionic energy?

Well, he would be fine either way.

* * *

After wandering around the area for what must have been hours, Ness picked up on a few key points:

First, this place was a _city._ Skyscrapers taller than anything Ness had ever seen (except for the Gate to Prosperity on Ceres) pierced the clouds, lighting up the sky with an array of colors. Still, buildings were spread out enough to make Ness feel comfortable, even with all of the people bustling around. There were enough trees to make Ness tempted to label the place as a forest. The first metropolitan forest. Ness smiled at the oxymoron.

Second, everyone was a psion, and that meant _everyone._ Even children too young to be awakened by Earth standards possessed psionic powers. In fact, Ness found as many people flying as walking. Still, something about their psionics seemed… different. Ness couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Third, these people weren't humans. They looked like humans, but they were too perfect. They revealed no physical flaws; Ness spotted no signs of crime or disturbance of any sort. Everyone carried their own attitude and nobody called them out for it. Viewing these people as an outsider, Ness began to feel guilty about every mistake that he had ever made.

 _Is this a trap?_ Ness thought. _There's no way that something like this could actually exist in Lucas' mind. I don't know what Fassad has planned, but…_

Ness heard what he thought was someone addressing him. He couldn't tell because these people spoke a different language (that in itself caught Ness off guard; basically everyone in the universe spoke Eagleish), but he thought that he could interpret the tone. He turned around, coming face to with a pink-haired woman who bore a striking resemblance to Kumatora. Ness' eyes widened as he took a step back.

"Ah," the woman said with a smile. "Is this better? Can you understand this?"

"Er… yes, ma'am," Ness said.

"You are a human, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Humans have fabric already?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows as she looked at Ness' clothes. "And your language is not one that we know of from studying your kind. And even more surprising, you have PSI. I didn't know that humans had the capability to learn our powers."

Ness blinked.

"Err… we have a lot of human psions," Ness said. "And I think that we had fabric a long time ago."

"Where do you come from?" the woman asked. "It's clear that you come from an organized society… China, perhaps? Mesopotamia? India?"

Her words flew right above Ness' head.

"I… come from Eagleland," Ness said. "In a town called Onett."

"And you're from Earth?"

"Yes, ma'am. How did you know?"

"Heh. The human's getting smart with me."

"I didn't intend it that way," Ness said hastily. "I mean… I could have come from Ceres."

"Ceres?" the woman asked. "Hmm… Oh, you mean Ralthevar. But that makes no sense. You humans haven't colonized it. Unless…" the woman's eyes widened. "You came from the future?"

Ness didn't know how well he could go along with that act, but he didn't want to say that he came from an outside world.

"Um… I _think_ so?" Ness said.

"Ah, where are my manners, then?" the woman asked, flashing a smile. "I apologize; the humans at this point in time are a little… primitive. Civilized, yes, but still primitive. It amazes me how much social etiquette carries over between our races, considering that we supposedly evolved independently… but I'm getting off topic. The name's Lorraine. Lorraine Olvna Var Entaire. Who might you be?"

 _Four names?_ Ness thought.

"I'm Ness. It's nice to meet you, Lorraine."

"The pleasure is mine," Lorraine said. "I don't suppose that you humans shake hands…?"

"Uh, we actually do."

Lorraine's eyes lit up as she extended her hand. Ness shook her hand delicately, feeling uncomfortable about interacting so intimately with a foreign race.

"Well then," Lorraine said, her eyes dancing with delight. "That was wonderful! I had no idea that our cultures were this closely aligned." She cocked her head in thought. "So what brings you to Faldin?"

"Faldin?"

"This city," Lorraine explained. "Did you just appear in this timeline?"

"I think so," Ness said. "I don't remember much besides waking up on one of these roads." He pointed to the fish swimming under the glass that he was standing on. "We certainly don't have _that_ in our human cities."

"I would imagine," Lorraine said. "Those things were a pain in the neck to install. They look pretty, though. Hmm. Perhaps I should find a way to send you back to your own timeline. Do you want that?"

"Uh…"

Ness was about to respond when he spotted Fassad walking towards him. Even though he had only seen the odd-looking man once, he doubted that he would ever forget him.

"Oh, Lorraine!" Fassad said, looking at Ness with a superficial smile. "You discovered the human, I see. We actually know each other quite well."

Ness took a step back. Should he try to run?

"Ah," Lorraine said. "I'll leave you two alone, then. It's never a dull moment with you, Locira."

"You have my thanks," Fassad said with a bow. "Now, Ness. I think that it's time for us to have a little chat."

Fassad snapped and the entire city faded away, leaving Ness and Fassad to stand on a plane of emptiness. Ness shivered, the vast nothingness reminding him of the extradimensional space that the Ceresian spaceships used to traverse light years in mere minutes.

"Don't be scared," Fassad said. "Nobody's going to hurt you."

"Like I trust you," Ness hissed.

"I don't expect you to trust me," Fassad said. Out of nowhere, a banana appeared in Fassad's hand. "Would you like something to eat or drink?"

"Not if it's poisoned. Boras warned me about you."

"Oh dear," Fassad said, shaking his head sadly. "I thought that you and the empirists were _enemies._ "

Ness gritted his teeth. It wasn't that simple!

"Just give me a chance to explain myself," Fassad said. Without waiting for a response from Ness, he continued, "As you can probably tell, that entire city was an illusion. Fake."

 _Err… really?_ Ness thought.

"It is, however, the exact same as a real city that existed almost 3000 years ago," Fassad said. "I… miss that city. Everyone who lived there is dead now. Well, basically everyone." he shook his head, appearing to banish some of his sorrow. "So I'm living in that lie. Minerva trapped me in here and told me to hunt down Lucas if I wanted to escape. However, killing a human child in cold blood isn't my style. Instead, I simply… prevented him from doing any more harm to Minerva's plan. It's best for him to stop struggling, anyway."

"You jailed him," Ness said coldly.

"Yes," Fassad admitted. "Like I said, it was for his own good."

Ness felt the urge to run away, but where would he go? Nothing but emptiness stretched for miles.

 _I could use Lucas' technique and change my location,_ Ness thought. _All that I need to do is think about getting out of here._

Ness narrowed his eyes. He still needed to put in a few choice words before he left.

"I think that you're lying," Ness said. "You're not as friendly as you want me to think. I saw you talking to yourself about killing Lucas a few days ago. You made it quite clear that you only cared about yourself!"

Fassad flinched, looking stunned.

"You saw that?" he asked softly. His face hardened. "Very well. I don't care a whit about the brat. I captured him and used his psionic energy to fuel the illusion of that city."

"That's horrible!"

Ness felt his heart pounding in rage. Why did Fassad think that he could use people like tools?

"Regardless, I would advise _you_ to stay out of it," Fassad said, thrusting a finger in Ness' face. "I don't know why you even care about the pipsqueak. If you try anything funny, then I might have to kill him. Everyone's better off this way."

"I _won't_ let you hold Lucas captive like that!" Ness protested.

"So stupid," Fassad muttered. "I could crush you, do you know that?"

Ness felt invisible fingers wrap around his mind and _squeezed_ it _._ Ness gasped, gripping his head in pain. Fassad grinned sadistically and the invisible grip tightened. Ness breathed heavily, trying not to fly into a panic.

 _I just have to think about escaping this place,_ Ness thought. _Need to get out!_

Ness forced the pain to the back of his mind and focused on a single, abstract word: escape. He didn't visualize it; he didn't say the word. He just imagined the concept.

The next second, the invisible grip on his mind was gone. Ness blinked his eyes open, finding himself in his bed on Vulcan. He coughed on the smoky air, hardly feeling the irritation over his relief that he had finally woken up. Ness smiled, but he couldn't stop a sense of longing from springing up in his heart.

It looked like helping Lucas would have to wait.


	9. Chapter 8: Police Brutality

**Whoops, guess I didn't stick to the schedule again. :( All I can say in my defense is that Fire Emblem Fates came out yesterday. Speaking of which, we didn't need Corrin in smash. They should have picked Elma to promote Xenoblade Chronicles X (great game, by the way... too bad the original is still pretty rare/expensive).**

 **Now, onto the chapter. It contains feels and romance, both qualities that I am absolutely dreadful at writing (and I'm also terrible irl at the second one). Guess that's what fanfiction's for, right? I can experiment with stuff like that and there's no pressure since there's no way that I'll get paid for this.**

 **...But I still tried to make it good! :D As always, I would appreciate feedback about this chapter. Both positive and negative comments are welcome. :)**

 **On a random note, we learned in psych recently that you have to already be decent at something to judge how good you are at it. Basically, people who are bad at something are too bad to even recognize their own lack of skill. I hope that's not me with writing haha (although I think that many fanfic writers suffer from this... like me while writing City of Progress, which wasn't even** ** _that_** **bad). So I guess it's also kind of a warning. If you just start something and you think that you're super good, you're probably not. :)**

 **Oh yeah, and this is a Ness POV. We're going to be seeing a lot of him.**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** There are a few reasons why Megan's a little disturbed at Morgan's connection with the scorpions, and I don't agree with all of them. First, she acts a lot based on instinct ("Ectoplasmic soldiers are unnatural and wrong"), which is primarily based off of past experience. So because Morgan is so different... she's kinda horrified. Also, these are mutated, bloodthirsty scorpions that are really nasty and not super empathizable all around. Lastly... Megan just hates bugs (by which I mean arthropods). So yeah, maybe not the best reasons, but I do think that she has a decent point. Maybe not, though.

Yep, Agerate does tend to disappear quite often, no? :) Yup, emotionless Lucas like Bud in TD, Masked Man in M3, and Lucas in City of Progress. The needles function a little different because there's no passing your heart onto the dragon thing; they simply keep (or kept, I guess) Gigyas trapped inside of Aphrodite. And are you talking about Andonuts in the italics journal thing? If so, I won't disclose whether he has multiple personalities or if he is a "body-switching psychopath." Or maybe you meant Fassad. Idk. xD

 **A Fan:** Don't worry about not reviewing; I understand that life happens. :) Yeah... Megan's a little ignorant for holding the second most powerful position in the universe. Yep, basically.

The glass city was supposed to be a little odd. I mean, it is a replica of an ancient alien city, so I had to make it a _little_ weird. :) Yeah, forgetting about characters is pretty easy with a cast as big as mine, huh? xD I forget about my characters all the time (Sorry, Poo and Paula). Uh... to be perfectly honest, that wasn't my plan, but it makes way more sense than what I had so I'm going with yours. :) The chapters are pretty much the same length as always (4.5-5.5k words without the AN), so I have no idea why they seem faster. Maybe it's because my characters don't ramble as much? (I shortened a lot of the dialogue in this chapter because the characters weren't saying anything for a lot of it)

* * *

 _Yet something still bugs me. Sure, I'm different, quite different. Yet somehow, I feel more like myself than I have in years. Does that make any sense? Maybe not._

 _I think it's because even though I act different, I still feel like the same person. Sure, I give off alternate vibes while in this form, but I still retain much of my basic personality. I'm the guy who does whatever and cracks jokes, yet gets dead serious at weird times._

 _But the way that I see people… I'm still startled at how much that changes with a new body. "Condescending" begins to describe me. Because, after all, I'm an esteemed PHD with a fancy badge and grey hairs. Shouldn't I command the public's respect?_

 _Even though all that is a lie, it's hard for me to resist thinking like that._

* * *

Ness walked into the barracks, taking off his stuffy face mask. He coughed in response to the smoky air, but at least he could _breathe._ As he tried in vain to silence his coughs, he spotted Lloyd sitting on a stone bench in Ness' room. He held a pen in his hand and looked at a sheet of paper beside him inquisitively, as if he were about to impart the fundamental secrets of the universe onto the parchment.

"Hello," Ness said, closing the door behind him. "Are you doing all right?"

"Are you?" Lloyd asked, looking up at Ness. Divine Rulers, something about his slight, calculating smile gave Ness the shivers. "That coughing fit seemed quite… serious."

Ness shrugged, putting his face mask back on.

"We just talked to Secretary Monotoli about finding you housing," Ness said, flinching at what he needed to say next.

"Let me guess," Lloyd said, setting down his pen. "He said that he didn't want to appear callous, but he really doesn't care about me and doesn't want to use up the resources to take care of me."

"Uh… yeah, basically," Ness said. "You don't seem offended by that."

"I don't mind," Lloyd said. "People who see me that way are easy to predict. I can deal with them." He paused, standing up and studying Ness' face. "The question is why you _do_ care about me. I'm just another Vulcanese orphan. What do you think that you can prove by saving me, one out of millions?"

"Every life matters," Ness whispered. "Monotoli doesn't want me to believe that, but I do."

"Hmm," Lloyd said. "Well, I think that I should go back out on the streets right now. I do not wish to encroach on your hospitality for much longer. I know that you and Ana give me some of your food because Monotoli does not wish to spare any for the needy."

"No!" Ness protested, taking a step forward. "We're fine helping you!"

"Then help someone with hope left," Lloyd said. The lack of emotion in his words stung more than one of Tracy's jeers. "They'll appreciate it."

"We can teach you how to hope again!"

"Hope again?" Lloyd asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "It's far too late for that. Trust me, Ness, you don't want to stop me. If you try, I'll make all of our lives miserable. You're still young and innocent; use that vigor to help someone who still has a chance in this universe."

 _I can't believe what I'm hearing!_ Ness thought.

"Oh, don't look so shocked," Lloyd said. "You knew that I was a creepy kid who couldn't do anything normal. Yet somehow, you still cared about me. When I saw you in the crowd of people who wanted me stoned to death, I saw kindness in your expression. You were the eye of the storm, Ness. You still are. Please, don't let that go to waste." Lloyd folded the piece of paper that he had been writing on in half and handed it to Ness. "Take this. It explains a lot about me. You probably don't want to read it right now, though."

"Uh…" Ness said, taking the folded sheet of paper into his hands. He handled the parchment carefully, setting it down next to his bed. "Thanks?"

"Don't thank me," Lloyd said with a grim smile. "You probably don't want to read what those words have to say. Still, I believe that you deserve to know."

"Know what?"

"If I told you, then it would give away too much. Open the note and read it when you are ready for the truth."

"What if I'm ready for the truth right now?" Ness asked.

"You're not. Even though you're in a war, you haven't _seen_ the war. Destruction at such a large scale often boggles the human mind. Once you see that, then maybe you should read the letter. Or maybe not. I don't want to sway you either way. I simply wish to present the situation how it is."

 _This has got to be one of the weirdest conversations ever,_ Ness thought, looking around to make sure that nobody was eavesdropping.

"Now," Lloyd said with a sad smile. "It is time to say goodbye. I shall host upon you and Ana like a virus no longer. I'm sorry that I am forcing this upon you, Ness. I really do wish that we could live in harmony together."

"D-Don't go!" Ness shouted.

"Please, cut the drama," Lloyd said. "We can still see each other around. You and Ana said that you'll be around for a few more weeks, right?"

"Yeah," Ness said, mostly to himself. "Yeah. This isn't a goodbye. We're just… doing different things for a while. We'll see each other soon."

"Correct," Lloyd said with a nod. "Say goodbye to Ana for me, would you? She seems like an extraordinary individual… Although it may not be prudent to tell her that. You teenagers seem to get strange ideas when you think that you're special."

Ness wanted to say more, but the words got caught in his throat. With a sad smile, Lloyd turned around and walked out of the barracks. Ness sat down on the stone bench, picking up Lloyd's letter.

 _I don't think that he'll appreciate me chasing after him,_ Ness thought. _Should I just open the letter instead?_

Ness' heart pounded in his chest. What kind of truth could possibly reside in this sheet of paper? Why did Lloyd think that he wasn't ready to see it?

 _I… suppose that I can always look at it later,_ Ness thought, setting the parchment back down.

"Hey!" came a cheerful voice as the door opened behind him.

Startled, Ness turned to face Ana. He shot a relieved smile. Nobody was spying on his odd conversation with Lloyd.

"Does that paper hold the secrets of the universe?" Ana asked with a humorous grin. "You seemed so intense when you looked at it!"

"Uh…"

"Just teasing," Ana said. "So, we have another mission. Captain Strong and Ben Minch are already at Raven's village."

"We're going there?" Ness asked, standing up. "Why?"

"Raven herself isn't in trouble, if that's what you're wondering," Ana said.

Ness sighed in relief, letting his muscles relax.

"However, we think that Frank might be hiding there," Ana continued. "A lot of cultists are still roaming around in that village; it wouldn't be that hard to hide him."

"Oh!" Ness said. "We should probably go now, then."

"Exactly," Ana replied. "Like I said, Captain Strong and Ben Minch are already there. They both mumbled about not wanting to have us teenagers 'hold them back'."

 _I'm pretty sure that they meant me and not you,_ Ness thought. _I've been useless. I couldn't stop Frank from escaping, I couldn't stop Lloyd from leaving, and I couldn't even make it on time to the first mission._

"Right," Ness said, not caring that his voice came off as depressed. "I need to tell you something else. Lloyd just got up and left. He said that he didn't want to leech off of us anymore. I told him to stay, but he wouldn't listen. I…" Ness looked away. "I froze. I didn't even try to stop him."

"It's fine!" Ana hastily said, putting an arm around Ness' shoulder. "I mean, he's free to do whatever he wants. And there's no shame in freezing under stress." In a low mutter, "It's probably better than what I do."

"W-What do you mean by that?" Ness asked.

Ana seemed to wake up from her brooding state, shaking her head rapidly like how a dog would shake off water from its fur. She stood up straight and put a smile back on her face.

"Ah, I'm sorry," she said. "I get a bit dark at times. To answer your question, I just tend to lash out when I feel that I'm in danger. It doesn't always end well. Now, are you ready to go to Raven's village?"

"Are you really okay that Lloyd just left?" Ness asked.

"Sure!" Ana said. "Like I said, he's free to do what he wants."

 _Yeah, I guess she's right,_ Ness thought, _So why do I keep feeling like this is all wrong?_

"I guess I'm ready then," Ness whispered, taking a deep breath.

"Try not to stress yourself out too much," Ana said, embracing Ness in a hug. "Whenever you need me, I'll be there for you."

 _But what happens when we get split up?_ Ness thought. _I'm too weak to do anything by myself._

 _For now, though… I guess I can rely on her._

"Thanks," Ness managed.

Ana released Ness, smiling sadly.

"I know that this is tough for you," she said. "I really admire your ability to push through. Teleport."

Before Ness could respond, the world around him phased out of existence.

* * *

Ness found himself standing in a small town covered with stone huts. The position of the sun told Ness that it was morning, but it didn't _feel_ like morning without dew on the plants. Just one more thing to miss about Earth, Ness supposed.

Ness heard chanting in the distance. Even from far away, he could make out the angry tone.

"Cultists?" he wondered out loud.

"It seems that way," Ana muttered, her muscles tensing. After a second, she relaxed her posture and took a deep breath. "Let's head over there."

Ness followed Ana as she ran towards the source of the noise, but he couldn't hope to match her pace. He sweated and panted while Ana kept a steady pace. On their way, Ness spotted Benjamin Minch talking with some villagers. Well, more like _interrogating_ them _._

"I know that you rats are hiding Frank Fly," Benjamin said, grabbing the arms of one of the villagers. "Tell me where he is or you'll regret it!"

Ness cringed. Benjamin's appearance along with his aggressive attitude reminded Ness of Pokey.

Pokey…

Ness bit his lip. He couldn't do anything about Pokey's death now.

"Maybe they just don't know," Ana said, walking up to Benjamin. "If _you_ were a cultist leader, would you tell every random villager where you were hiding?"

"Shut it, Aniah!" Benjamin snapped. "I'm the one interrogating here, not you!"

"And I see how well that's going," Ana said, gesturing towards the terrified Vulcanese.

Ness' heart ached as he looked at the helpless villagers. Their faces of terror… Their trembling bodies… Ness could empathize.

"Just give me some time!" Benjamin yelled. "I'll break them soon."

"You are not going to 'break' anybody," Ana said, her voice cold and her expression colder.

"Since when did you outrank me?" Benjamin asked, crossing his arms over his chest. " _I_ am in charge here. Besides, do you want to find Frank Fly or not?"

"Treating people poorly makes them less likely to tell you what you want," Ana said.

"You don't know how these people work," Benjamin said. "They're Vulcanese! They'll do anything to make life more difficult for us. I need to show them who's boss."

"Says the person who invades our village," a Vulcanese man spoke up. "Maybe I _should_ have joined Frank's cultists. They're a more accepting lot than you Ceresians."

The bitterness in the man's voice continued to ring in Ness' ear long after the words died out. Benjamin Minch looked stunned.

"Quiet!" Benjamin roared. "Don't make me hurt you!"

"Nobody's making you hurt anyone," Ana said. "Now please, see reason. You're not helping anyone with this."

"I think that you're just not used to people standing up to you, Aniah," Benjamin spat. "Look at him!" he pointed to Ness. "He hasn't said a single thing so far. He just follows you and does what you tell him. You must really have him wrapped around your finger."

Ness opened his mouth, various profane words tumbling in his head as rage burned in his heart.

"Maybe we work well together because I'm actually a decent human being, unlike you!" Ana shouted.

"Pathetic," Benjamin said. "Both of you are _pathetic._ You'll be lucky if I don't file a report for this attempted sabotage of Captain Strong's orders!"

"The orders came from Strong?" Ana asked, her eyes narrowing.

"What did I just say?" Benjamin asked. "Are you deaf?"

"Ana," Ness whispered. "Should we talk to him instead? I don't think that this guy is going to budge."

Ana took a long stare at the Vulcanese. Ness bit his lip, realizing that he and Ana had probably made it worse for them.

"All right," Ana said. "Let's go."

"I'm sorry," Ness said to the Vulcanese, "But this guy calls the shots. I want to help, but…"

Ness squeezed his eyes shut, unable to bear their looks of betrayal. He turned around and hurried after Ana.

Before long, Ness and Ana arrived at the source of the noise: a massive crowd in the middle of the town square. Ness spotted the execution stage where Lloyd had nearly been murdered and felt the urge to barf. However, Captain Strong rather than Frank Fly stood on the stage in front of the crowd. Behind him stood a legion of green, gooey humanoids carrying swords and bows. Ness blinked, assuming that they would disappear right in front of his eyes once he could see right.

"Those are the ectoplasmic warriors," Ana said, straining her voice to be heard over the crowd. "I keep forgetting that you were out cold when the empirists attacked and these things defended us."

"Who's controlling them?" Ness asked. "Do they… Function like robots?"

 _"I'm just going to talk telepathically so that I don't have to shout over the crowd,"_ Ana said, her voice echoing in Ness' mind. _"A human has to give them general orders, and the warriors are smart enough to deal with the specifics. So sort of like robots? Anyways, we need to talk to Strong about this."_

Ana grabbed his arm, and the next second both of them were standing on the stage next to Captain Strong. It took Ness a couple seconds to realize that Ana used a short-ranged teleport.

"You two finally showed up," Captain Strong said, looking out at the crowd in disdain. "Look at these worms. They have no respect for authority. If this were Ceres, I would beat some sense into them."

 _Doesn't it make sense that they don't have any respect for the "authority" that strolled in and just kind of tried to take over?_ Ness wanted to ask.

 _"Captain Strong,"_ Ness heard telepathically. The lack of emotion in the voice made Ness shiver. _"You have my permission to use these soldiers to assist with keeping the peace, if you wish."_

"Ana?" Ness asked. "Was that-"

 _"Did it sound like me?"_ Ana asked. _"That was whoever controls those soldiers. I assumed that it was President Carpainter, but that didn't sound like her."_

"Correct," Captain Strong said over the roaring of the crowd. "That was Secretary Monotoli. It appears that you two are not needed. These soldiers will take care of everything."

"Please, send the soldiers away!" Ana exclaimed, using her own voice instead of telepathy. "The Vulcanese hate them. Just listen to what the crowd is saying…"

Even though Ana directed the suggestion at Captain Strong, Ness listened to the crowd's words:

"Ceresian witchcraft!"

"Get those green devils out of our planet!"

"Glory to Giygas, our lord and savior!"

"Leave and never come back!"

Ness heard countless more shouts along those lines. It boggled his mind how someone could worship a demon from an Osohe legend, but he could understand why they wanted the ectoplasmic warriors gone. Heck, _he_ wanted them gone and they were on his side!

"What they _want_ does not matter," Captain Strong said.

"It does if we want to work with them to find Frank Fly!" Ana shouted. "Didn't you say that he could be here?"

"Correct," Captain Strong said. "That's why I sent Benjamin Minch to interrogate those suspected of harboring him."

"He's doing in the wrong way!" Ana shouted. "Threatening them doesn't work!"

"You know _nothing_ about this, girl!" Captain Strong shouted. "You should have stayed back on Ceres like a real lady."

Ana's jaw tightened. She glared at Captain Strong with enough malice to make Ness take a step back.

"I am your commanding officer," Captain Strong said, "And Secretary Monotoli can see everything through those ectoplasmic soldiers. I order you to stand back and let me deal with this!"

Ana clenched her fists, looking like she was about to sock Captain Strong in the face. Then she turned around and took stiff steps away, eventually ending up behind the line of ectoplasmic warriors.

"Ana!" Ness shouted, running over to her. "Are you really going to just let him do what he wants?"

"We can't do anything about this," Ana hissed. Ness could barely hear her over the roar of the crowd.

"There has to be something!" Ness protested.

"Well, if you have an idea, I'm all ears," Ana said flatly. "But that would involve stopping both Captain Strong and the soldiers. Even if he did, Monotoli would probably brand us as traitors. There is _nothing that we can do._ "

"No!" Ness shouted, tears coming to his eyes. "Please, can't you come up with something? You always know what to do…"

Ana turned away, putting her hands over her heart.

"Ana?"

"I…" Ana drew a shaky breath. "I can't help this time. I'm sorry."

"Ana!"

"This is your last warning," Captain Strong bellowed at the crowd. Ness looked over and saw rotten food splattered across his clothing. "If you do not back away in ten seconds, I won't hesitate to order these soldiers to attack! Ten, nine, eight…"

"Captain Strong!" Ness shouted.

"Seven, six…"

"Captain Strong!" Ness repeated, running up to the police officer.

"Five, four…"

"I can use PK Rockin to just make them fall over!" Ness shouted.

"Three…"

Captain Strong didn't even seem to notice him.

"Two…"

 _Please,_ Ness thought. _Please don't let this happen?_

"One…"

Ness looked out at the crowd, hoping to see it scattering.

Nobody was running away. Nobody had moved at all.

"Charge."

Ness leapt out of the way as the ectoplasmic soldiers dashed forward and leapt into the crowd. The crunches and screams alerted a primal part of Ness that something was fundamentally wrong. Tears stinging his eyes, Ness ran back over to Ana.

"Close your eyes and cover your ears," Ana said, embracing Ness in a hug. "It will be easier that way, trust me."

Ness followed Ana's suggestion without really thinking about it. Closing his eyes almost made it worse; in the darkness, his imagination painted an image out of screams that made their way past the fingers plugging his ears.

 _"It will be over soon…"_ Ana said telepathically. _"Just hang on for a little longer. Try to focus on something else, all right?"_

Ness focused on how Ana's perfume smelled. Why did she feel the need to keep up a ladylike act after joining the military? Still, Ness was glad to have something other than the tortured screams in the background to focus on. He let the flowery scent of Ana's perfume waft into his nose and chase out everything else in his mind.

 _"This will all be over soon…"_ Ana whispered.

* * *

Ness didn't remember anyone teleporting him back to the city. He didn't walking into the barracks. He didn't remember crawling into his bed. But here he was, curled up into a ball, hugging himself like a child. He couldn't say why he did those things. No… perhaps he could.

His body wouldn't let him do anything else.

Ness cried. He didn't think about all of the death; he _couldn't_ think about all of the death. He just cried.

What more could he do?

* * *

Weeks passed in a blur. Ness wished that he _had_ looked at the victims while the ectoplasmic soldiers were butchering them. Surely they deserved at least that. Looking away didn't even help with the nightmares. On the contrary, Ness' mind wandered back to the scene of the massacre every night. Some times, it was Frank Fly ordering the execution of a crowd of people who looked like Lloyd. Other times, Mr. Carpainter loosed the ectoplasmic warriors on a mass of "starmen disguised as humans." One time, he even imagined _Giygas_ descending and slaughtering a crowd of humans.

In all of those dreams, the sounds of victims screaming remained the same. Even after several days, he could still hear the screams muffled in the back of his mind.

He acted like a zombie for the first few days, taking a bite to eat and then staring out of a window for hours. He improved quickly, aided by his experience with this mechanical state after his father died. Occasionally, he could muster up enough fear of turning back into a mindless automaton that he could perform normal actions.

Eat, chew, swallow.

Put one foot in front of the other.

Breathe in, breathe out.

He could do little more than that.

Vaguely, he became aware of his own depression. It actually relieved him; better moderately depressed than tormented. After his father died two years ago, Ness hadn't really ever returned to normal. Hazy memories of entire days spent watching television clouded his mind. Even though depression left Ness with nothing to care about, he knew in the back of his mind that he would eventually get better, so long as he didn't resort to suicide. Life came with its highs and lows; he could only try to buffet this storm until it passed.

Ness talked with Ana, but even she couldn't provoke any emotion from him. Upon looking at Ana's heartbroken face, Ness resolved to avoid talking with her until he had recovered enough not to make her feel bad.

He thought about reading Lloyd's letter, but since he hadn't really _seen_ the truth, he figured that he didn't really have the right to look at Lloyd's words just yet. He fought back the loneliness and resolved to do everything in his power to feel again so that he could return to Ana without making her hurt.

About three weeks after the massacre, Ness got his chance. Ana walked into his room, wearing a worried expression. Ness forced himself not to turn away. He had pushed her back for too long already.

"Ness," Ana said, her eyes wide with concern. "Is everything…" Ana gritted her teeth, likely noting Ness' lack of reaction. "…All right?"

Ness sighed. He _wanted_ to care. He really did.

"Yes," he answered. "I'm sorry for pushing you away. I just didn't want to hurt you anymore."

"Oh, Ness," Ana said with a bittersweet smile. "I still wanted to see you, even if you were depressed."

"Really?" Ness asked. "Even though I made you feel bad?"

"Better that than not seeing you at all."

 _That_ provoked a feeling in his heart. A slight smile came to Ness' lips.

"Well then," he said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Ana said. "Can we start seeing more of each other again? It's been really lonely with nobody to talk to."

"Of course," Ness said. _I love you._ For some reason, he couldn't get those words out. "I just needed some time to myself. I'm sorry that it took three weeks."

"No problem!" Ana said, straightening her posture. "Depression is a nasty monster. I know that it takes some people longer than a few weeks to improve."

"I think it helped that it was caused by something specific," Ness said, weeks of contemplation bringing him to that answer. "Because at least I know what I need to take care of. If I can help Vulcan… Maybe the screams will go away."

"Don't push yourself," Ana said, putting a hand on Ness' shoulder. "Besides, we go home in a week anyway.

"Really?" Ness asked.

"Yeah," Ana said. "After this, it's break. We get excused from our finals and other school stuff since we helped the military. Remember, Minerva made sure that we would only sign up for a month."

"Oh," Ness said. "Home."

Whenever he tried to imagine himself returning to Onett, the picture always slipped away from his mind as if it were covered in grease.

"It will be good for you," Ana said. "You'll get to see your family again!"

 _Part of my family, at least,_ Ness thought, thinking of Mr. Carpainter's lightning.

"I guess we have to make this last week count," Ness said. "I assume that our team went on more missions without me?"

"Yeah," Ana said hesitantly, wincing in anticipation. "That's… where the bad news comes in. A lot has happened in these past few weeks. Monotoli used the ectoplasmic soldiers again to 'keep the peace' multiple times."

The sinking feeling in Ness' stomach returned in full force.

"…Oh," he said.

"And more importantly, a few things _didn't_ happen. Still no signs of Claus and Ninten, and nobody's seen Lloyd either."

Great. As if Ness didn't have enough to worry about already.

"I'm sorry," Ana said. "But, well… You were going to find out eventually."

"You don't have to be sorry," Ness said. "I just tend to take things hard. Do you think that Claus and Ninten are…?" Ness couldn't force himself to finish the sentence.

"I'm not going to lie," Ana said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I really don't know. It's possible that Morgan killed both of them, but maybe she just captured them instead. Until we find their bodies, there's always hope."

"Yeah," Ness said. "You're right. Thanks, Ana. I forgot how much I missed the way that you can always make me feel better."

"Aww, you're welcome!" Ana said. "I mean, we're courting, right? It's the least that I can do." She paused, cocking her head. "Do you think that we actually love each other, or do you think that we just _think_ that we love each other?"

"Where did _that_ question come from?" Ness asked, wondering why it hurt so much to hear those words.

"I mean, we're pretty much alone on this polluted rock. The Vulcanese don't trust us, and the other psions are assholes. Isn't it possible that we only 'love' each other because we have nobody else?"

Ana bit her lip. Her expression made it clear that this wasn't the first time that she struggled with the question.

But why would she care? Ana could probably form a romantic bond with anyone that she wanted, and Ness was basically dead weight.

"Well," Ness said. "I can't deny that I do need to share my problems with you, but it goes further than that. I really do love you, Ana. I mean… If what I'm feeling is really love, that is. Some people say that we can't _really_ love until we're older. I don't know if that's true, but the feelings that I have for you are real."

"I hoped that you would say that," Ana said, her eyes lighting up. "I wish that I could say the same, but I don't really know if I can. Half the time, I can't even interpret my own feelings. But you probably don't want to hear about my problems."

"No!" Ness protested. "It's okay, really. I mean, you spend so much time helping me out that I should try to give back somehow, right?"

"It just feels weird that I'm the one who needs help," Ana said. "But I accept your offer to let me ramble on about my silly problems." Ana cleared her throat. "I'm worried that once this is all over, I'll find out that I didn't truly love you and that I just _needed_ you because I can't connect with anyone else on Vulcan. What would you do if that happened?"

 _I would probably feel awful,_ Ness thought, _But I can't tell her that._

"I guess we would just go back to being friends," Ness thought. "If you're okay with that, I mean."

"Really?" Ana asked, seeming surprised. "You would be willing to do that for me?"

"Of course!" Ness said. "I want you to be happy, after all."

"I… Thank you," Ana said in a shaky voice. "That really means a lot to me. I didn't expect that."

"I mean, you would do the same for me, right?" Ness asked.

"Yeah, but…" Ana blinked. "I guess you're right. I guess I'm just used to giving kindness rather than receiving it. But still." Ana smiled. "I'm so lucky to have you."

Ness' heart skipped a beat. What was he supposed to say? That he felt the same way about her? He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Aw, I'm making you blush!" Ana said. "I can tell that I'm making you uncomfortable. I'll stop for now. Let's just focus on surviving this last week, all right? I think that we can do that."

"Of course," Ness said. A smile crept on his face. "Although it will be hard without you being able to resort to buying ice cream for everyone."

"Hey, that isn't my solution for _everything!"_ Ana said. "Still, it's amazing that we can joke around, given our circumstances. I guess that we just need to focus on the bright side, huh? We both get to see our parents in a week. That's something to look forward to, right?"

"I'll be counting down the days," Ness said with a smile that expressed all of the hope that had been buried within him for the past three weeks.


	10. Chapter 9: Solitude

**Hey, everyone. :) How's your Friday? I'm not doing great, but we all have those days where things just work out. Still, I don't think that this chapter suffered too much for it.**

 **This chapter, we're going back to Ninten's PoV. There are a lot of Ness and Ninten chapters coming up, so I hope that you like those characters. ;)**

 **Also, Fire Emblem Fates is amazing. It fixed problems with Awakening that I only realized existed after I played Fates and realized how much better it is. At least, gameplay wise. I don't have a strong opinion on the story yet.**

 **But you guys probably aren't here to listen to me mumble along about video games and stuff (although that's kind of what fanfiction is... with my very AU stories, I sometimes forget :P). I'll respond to the reviews and post the chapter to leave you guys in peace.**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** I've never been in a war myself (thankfully), so I can only imagine how it would go. And for one of the Vulcanese civilians stuck in the war, the story would be even worse. At least Ness and Ana live fairly comfortably and have enough power to make a difference if they try. I'm covering the Ninten timeline today. :) Yep, Strong didn't handle the protests well at all. I guess I'll play a little bit of devil's advocate and point out that it's surprisingly hard to be rational when the crowd is against you. What he did wasn't right, but it does happen all the time. Clearly, he's not Hitler or anything. :( See you! :)

 **A Fan:** Actually, the letter's going to remain secret for quite a while. Ness brought it up last chapter how he didn't want to open it, even after Strong's little stunt. And he didn't order the soldiers to kill _all_ of the Vulcanese; he just wanted to kill a few so that the rest would scatter. Not like that's a whole lot better. But the letter reveals secrets that I'm not ready to disclose yet (and they probably wouldn't make as much sense to the readers right now). Ah, that's exactly how I wanted Lloyd to seem. I'm glad that I didn't mess him up _too_ terribly. xD And thanks. :) Like I said, I don't really write romance, but... I tried. xD I like those stories too. At the same time, though, I want to be able to connect with the protags, so I don't really like books where the protag is super evil and stuffs (I can respect those books, but I don't really _like_ them). Likable protags stuck in a situation like this is my attempt at an adequately dark story that doesn't induce anger at the protags. :)

 **crabbyTomato:** Heh, I wish that I could write fanfiction as a full-time job. Being a novelist is as close to that as I can get, I guess. Yep, Bronze Age it is. Earth in this fic is actual Earth. Because that's where I picture the actual games being set: in an alternate Earth. You're right; those names do sound rather Viking-esque. I came up with those names randomly, and they're probably a result of something that I view as "exotic" while not being too foreign. You know, since American culture is quite similar to Western European culture. Thanks. :) Fassad always struck me as pragmatic as well as sadistic. He knows that there's no point in fighting for a lost cause. And thanks for the catch. :) No, that's not pedantic.

Really? "Programming god" and his programs don't work on their own? xD Some people... And I'm glad that you could analyze Lloyd that much. Heck, I don't even know if I thought out everything that you mentioned. I was just kinda like, "Okey, here goes! :D" And your semi-serious theory of him being an old man who got miniaturized into a boy is closer to the truth than you probably expect. ;) And that's good because I wanted Ness to seem exactly that way. It's hard to balance a character between sympathizable and competent, which is why I like to have multiple protags. And Strong was not super professional about the protest thing; I agree. ._. See you later! :)

 **PSIBoy:** Yep, you know me. I can't stop myself from writing these one-chapter tragedies. Because I want to write the feels but I don't want my character to be depressed/mopey for so long that it gets annoying. Ah, it's good that I didn't screw that up too badly, huh? xD Yeah, to be honest, one of the main reasons for this chapter was the fact that I needed to do some sort of leap forward in time and I needed it to make sense in terms of the plot. True, war is grey grey grey. We like to envision ourselves as the good guys, but that's not usually the case in history. Take the Allied powers in WWII. Yeah, the Axis was undeniably horrible, but we did some pretty dubious things, especially after the war when the UN was formed. A lot of the current unrest in the Middle East can be traced back to Western greed for oil. That little detail about Giygas popped into my head a while back and I though that it would explain his absence for a few millenia. :)

* * *

 _I'm really stretching this on, aren't I? This is a single journal entry, but I've already been writing for what feels like hours. I guess that I don't get much time to reflect since I'm always working._

 _I find it funny how hard I work because I was always seen as the lazy one. Work doesn't stand up to the joy of leisure. I remember feeling the warm breeze wash over me, ruffling my hair and flapping my clothing. I looked out to a sea of turquoise blue, and brightly colored sparrows would chirp along with the crashing of the waves. I dove into the warm waters of the ocean, feeling the salt sting the inside of my nose. I didn't care. I couldn't care. It was just too beautiful._

 _This frozen wasteland enchants me in the same way. My family would consider what I'm doing "goofing off," even though I just invented a device that allows regular people to teleport around like psions._

 _I guess I am lazy by their standards. After all, that term is applied to people who put their joys in front of their responsibilities._

 _I'm as far away from my responsibilities as possible._

* * *

"How does the new face mask feel?" Claus asked as he and Ninten walked through the tunnels of underground Vulcan.

"Fresh and not bloody," Ninten said. "Emphasis on not bloody."

"I can't believe that you wore that thing after you fell over and landed on your nose," Claus said. "Wasn't it all wet and gross from the blood?"

"Yeah. What's your point?"

Claus rolled his eyes.

"What about your breastplate?" he asked. "How does that fit?"

"Well enough," Ninten said. "I've only complained about how it was slowing me down five or six times so far, so it's pretty much perfect."

Claus blinked.

"Come on!" Ninten said. "That was _funny._ "

"It was oddly upbeat," Claus said, raising an eyebrow. "What's gotten into you?"

"I could ask you the same thing. You've never looked happier before, and we're rotting away in some psyching mine."

"That's true," Claus said. "I don't know why. By all accounts, we should be at each other's throats by now."

"I think that we need each other," Ninten said, looking out into the darkness of the tunnel. "We've been walking for a couple of days and we haven't found anyone except for a group that wanted to exploit us for labor. I think that we can't face something like that alone."

"You can and you will," came a woman's voice from behind Ninten.

Ninten whirled around, holding his hands up defensively. Morgan Lorune stood right behind him, wearing a smug smile. Ninten wondered if she ever did anything _besides_ pat her own ego by trying to beat down teenagers.

"What are you here for?" Claus growled. "We're playing by your rules."

"You are," Morgan said in a mockingly proud voice. "Do you want a cookie for that?"

Claus took a step forward, his cheeks red with anger.

"Stop," Ninten ordered. "She's just trying to get to you. She probably feels so insecure about how pathetic she is that she does this to make herself feel better."

Ninten heard a light ring and then grabbed his head in pain. His vision flashed bright white.

 _I guess this is what a migraine feels like,_ he thought dryly.

After a few seconds, the headache cleared up. Ninten didn't even realize that he was gasping for air until he regained his senses.

"Not a good idea to say that in front of your captor," Morgan said, wagging a finger. "And yes, both of you _are_ still under my control. I could kill you both where you stood and nobody would ever find out."

"You okay?" Claus asked, putting a hand on Ninten's shoulder. Ninten blinked, hardly able to believe the sincerity in Claus' eyes.

"Yeah," Ninten said with a weak smile. "She just used psionics to attack my mind. Nothing permanent."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Morgan said with a superior smile.

"Lifeup," Ninten said, touching a hand to his forehead. "There. If you actually caused damage, I just healed it."

"I was kidding," Morgan said, sniffing in disdain.

"It seems that neither of you are funny with your jokes," Claus muttered.

"Like you're any better!" Ninten protested.

"I know a great joke," Claus said.

"What is it?"

"Ahem," Morgan said, clearing her throat. "I _am_ still here."

"Oh, we know," Ninten replied with a cheeky smile.

"Hilarious," Morgan said. "You should become a comedian."

"Thanks."

"You're just as bad as Pan," Morgan said, sneering. "Now, let's get to the point or I knock you both out."

"Hard choice," Claus muttered.

"Stop joking around!" Morgan shouted.

"All right, all right," Claus said, covering his ears. "Why are you here, Ms. Evil Lady?"

"Seriously," Morgan muttered. "You kids think that you're _so_ special just because you're psions. News flash: you can't just say whatever you want, especially to a person who holds power over you! Now both of you will not utter a _word_ or I knock both of you out. Do you understand me?"

"Not really," Ninten said, "Because you told us not to talk and then you asked us to reply-"

Ninten took a step back as Morgan's fist grazed in front of his face. The second punch caught him in the eye. Ninten forced himself not to groan as he blinked away the pain.

"I am a _humane_ person," Morgan said, "And I do not wish to harm either of you, but you are making that quite difficult." She paused and then muttered, "Psyching kids."

 _Does she really come from my dad's side of the family?_ Ninten thought. _Because that sounded just like my mom right there._

"So do you want us to talk, or-" a glare from Morgan shut Ninten up.

"I will explain myself," she said, " _Without_ any interruptions from my captives." She glared at Ninten. "Do I have to teach either of you some respect?" Silence. "Good. Now, this game didn't exactly play out how I wanted it to. I did not know that the ginger had been down in these caves before." Claus bristled at being called a ginger but said nothing. "Since he has already seen the truth of this system, I will teleport him out and hold him until Ninten finishes his little journey. At that point, the ginger can go free and I'll have another meeting with Ninten."

Claus tapped his foot, staring at Morgan like a lion sizing up its prey.

"You don't seem pleased with this opportunity," Morgan told Claus.

"Permission to speak?" Claus asked.

"Granted."

"I don't know if it's an option, but I would prefer to stay with Ninten."

"Why?" Ninten blurted out. "Don't you want to get out of here?"

"Think about it," Claus said. "I'll just be in a prison somewhere else until you find your way out. That could take months. I trust my skills to get us out of this cave more than yours."

 _Ah, of course,_ Ninten said. _Sticking together aids both of us. He wouldn't actually sacrifice a decent opportunity for me._

"How cute," Morgan said with a fake smile. "Two little friends, sticking together."

"That's kind of what friends do," Ninten said.

Ninten gripped his head as it started to throb yet again. This headache cleared up more quickly than the last one.

"I didn't give _you_ permission to speak," Morgan said with a cruel smile.

 _Those headaches are basically lashes from a psionic whip,_ Ninten thought. _Morgan would make a great slaver._

"That is not an option," Morgan said to Claus. "I wouldn't want to keep you in this place longer than I need to."

"But ma'am," Claus said, furrowing his eyebrows. "I don't mind it here."

 _"_ _Can't you tell?"_ Ninten asked Claus telepathically. _"She doesn't care about how you feel. You're giving me a free pass to escape this test of hers. She wants you out of the picture so that I have to face the mines on my own."_

Another headache interrupted Ninten's thoughts. He almost collapsed from the pain.

"Telepathic talking is still talking," Morgan said. "Yes, I can hear you. Regardless, Ninten is right. The whole point of this exercise is to show Ninten what it's like to wander the mines. It's a far different experience if he gets a guided tour."

Claus' muscles tensed.

"Are you actually going to resist me on this?" Morgan asked, looking at Claus as if he were an alien. "This is your chance to escape the mines! Why aren't you excited?"

"I want to stay with Ninten," Claus said in a tone that dared Morgan to challenge him.

"Uh… Claus?" Ninten asked. "Really, don't feel like you have to do this for me. I'm fine."

"Listen to your friend, ginger!" Morgan snapped. "I'm not giving you an option and it's best this way. Remember that I could have you killed if I wanted to, but I won't descend to Minerva's level. She nearly wiped out an entire village of civilians just because she _felt like it._ You knew Duster, right? She killed him in cold blood."

Ninten didn't feel _too_ sorry for the death of the rogue who tried to capture him during the night of the starman attack, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Really?" Claus asked. "How did it happen?"

"She tried to wipe my village out with an attack from those ectoplasmic warriors that you Ceresians use. He was one of the casualties."

"…"

Ninten tried to read Claus' expression but couldn't come up with anything.

"You're undeniably a better person than Minerva is," Claus said slowly, "But I still don't want to go through with this. I won't leave Ninten alone."

"You don't have a choice!" Morgan yelled. "Why do you kids always think that you can do whatever the psych you want? I. Am. Your. Captor. Do you _psyching_ understand that?"

An awkward silence fell upon them. Ninten wanted to reply with a sarcastic "no" but thought better of it. He looked over to Claus, whose expression remained unreadable.

"I think that I'll fight you on this one," Claus whispered. "Not much in my life means anything to me anymore. If I can help Ninten…" Claus' eyes narrowed. "I'll do what I can."

 _Wait a second,_ Ninten thought. _Claus cares about me? But I've been a jerk to him ever since we've met! How could he possibly care about an asshole like me?_

"Well, I think that you'll have different ideas after this!" Morgan shouted, moving her hands to manifest a power.

After a few seconds, Claus raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… what?" he asked.

"Wait," Morgan said, panic leaking into her body posture. "Why didn't the mind thrust affect you?" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I know that it works on Ninten. If you don't cooperate, I'll-"

Dr. Andonuts materialized right next to Morgan.

"I'll… What the psych are you doing here, Pan?" Morgan asked.

"I was told that there would be cake," Dr. Andonuts said. His quizzical expression was surprisingly convincing. "Do you have cake?"

Morgan balled her hands into fits and gritted her teeth.

"I was _just_ about to make some progress at something!" she shouted. "Shut the psych up and go away, Pan. You're the absolute worst!"

 _She criticizes teenagers and then does this?_ Ninten thought. _Hypocrite._

"Oh, don't worry, I have an actual reason for coming here," Dr. Andonuts said. "I'm not sure if any of you know this, but I invent things from time to time. I even got on a magazine cover. Invention takes quite a bit of problem-solving skills, so I think that I can assess this situation and offer a compromise. How about this, Claus?" Dr. Andonuts smiled. "You stay in my place at Winters until Ninten gets out. It's nice and chilly up there."

"Why would I possibly accept that?" Claus asked.

"You can read up on a wide range of subjects," Dr. Andonuts said. "I have a lot of books lying around."

Claus blinked.

"If you think that _books_ will convince me to abandon my friend…" Claus growled.

"I have books on psionic savants," Dr. Andonuts said.

Claus' demeanor changed instantly. His eyes widened. He dropped his combat stance. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

All very un-Clauslike actions.

"Psionic savants?" Claus whispered. "Like…?"

"Yes," Dr. Andonuts said. " _Him._ "

Claus turned to Ninten. He bit his lip and cocked his head back and forth, thinking furiously.

"You said that… It's okay if I leave you, right?" Claus whispered.

 _What the psych is happening?_ Ninten thought. He glanced at Dr. Andonuts, who wore a strangely sad expression.

"Uh, yeah," Ninten said. "Sure. Go ahead."

"Thank you," Claus whispered, flashing a smile that warmed Ninten's heart. Turning to Dr. Andonuts, "You had _better_ not be lying about this. I agree to go with you to Winters."

"Umm," Ninten said. "I'm afraid to ask, but what's a psionic savant?"

"Can't you guess?" Morgan snapped, scowling at Dr. Andonuts. "A savant is someone who possesses extreme talent in one area but fails pretty miserably at everything else."

"So a psionic savant is just a really powerful psion with nothing else going for them?" Ninten asked.

"They know so much psionics that they stop acting like humans," Dr. Andonuts said.

A chill ran down Ninten's spine. Was that… really possible? And who was that psionic savant that Dr. Andonuts mentioned earlier?

"I think that we should go now, Claus," Dr. Andonuts said. "Morgan, do you want to come with us? Something tells me that you and Ninten will be at each other's throats if left alone."

"I had this all planned out," Morgan whispered. She turned towards Dr. Andonuts, her eyes alight with fury. "This was _my_ plan, not yours! How dare you try to take over after all of my hard work!"

"I got Claus to come with me," Dr. Andonuts said, "And he won't be telling anyone where Ninten is. Problem solved. I thought you'd be happy."

"You can never let me have any of the glory, can you?" Morgan asked, shoving a finger into Dr. Andonuts' face.

"There's no glory in sending two children through the mines," Dr. Andonuts said. "All I wanted was to save you from a fight with a psychic warrior with years of combat experience."

"Psychic warriors are helpless!" Morgan shouted. "They can't do anything besides make themselves a little stronger."

"Don't be so sure," Dr. Andonuts said. "Now, are you coming with us, or do I have to babysit you and Ninten to make sure that you two don't fight?"

"You are dead to me," Morgan hissed. "Teleport!"

Dr. Andonuts sighed as Morgan vanished from sight.

"She'll be back to normal in a few days," Dr. Andonuts said. "Although it's been getting worse. Her temper, I mean. Before Boras died, she used to be pretty level-headed, if a little bitter."

Great. Yet another thing that Ninten could feel guilty about. The sinking feeling in his stomach pushed him to apologize for killing Boras, but he knew that it wouldn't do any good.

"Now, is there anything that you two want to say to each other before you go?" Dr. Andonuts asked.

"Keep heading in the direction that we were going," Claus said. "If you find yourself looping around for too long, you might want to backtrack. After a while, you should hit a mining division that's not as sinister as the others. Ask for a man called Gerardo Montague and tell them that I sent you. He can get you out of this place."

"Uh, thanks," Ninten said, struggling to remember everything.

"Sorry that I'm abandoning you," Claus whispered, turning away. "If you want, maybe I could-"

"Please, go," Ninten said. "I can handle this by myself and I don't want Morgan breathing down our necks. We'll meet up once I get out, okay? Assuming that Dr. Andonuts actually takes you to Winters and keeps you alive."

"And also assuming that you come out of the caves alive," Claus said. "Don't die down here, all right?"

"I'll try my hardest not to," Ninten said, looking into Claus' visible eye. "That's a promise."

"When we get out of here, I'm going to treat us both to ice cream on Ceres," Claus said. "Just like old times, except that someone other than Ana is finally going to pay."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

"A goodbye fit for a television drama," Dr. Andonuts said. "Everyone packed all of their things? Oh wait, you don't have anything to pack."

 _Was that supposed to be a joke?_ Ninten thought.

"Well, it was nice seeing you, Ninten," Dr. Andonuts said. "I'm sure that we'll meet again later. Tell Jeff that I said hi!"

"Uh… Okay?"

Dr. Andonuts smiled.

"I know, the circumstances aren't ideal. But I'm rooting for you, if that means anything."

"It does, a little," Ninten said. "Thanks."

"See you, Ninten," Claus whispered.

"Well, I don't think that we should drag this out any longer," Dr. Andonuts said, pulling out a metal, two-pronged device. "Teleport."

Claus and Dr. Andonuts faded away. Ninten turned to face the darkness that lay waiting for him down the tunnel. For the first time in weeks, he was truly alone.

* * *

Ninten spent the first day on his own walking in the direction that Claus had told him. Hours after hours spent trudging along, just him and the psionic crystal that gave off enough purple light for him to see. Sometimes, Ninten would whistle to himself just so that he could hear _something._

He tried to pass the time by thinking about the prospect of ice cream on Ceres but quickly realized that he needed to devote all of his attention to navigation. The tunnels curved slightly, and those curves added up over time. After a few hours, Ninten wasn't quite sure exactly which direction he was headed in.

Still, he whistled to himself and kept on walking. Even if it took him a while to find his bearings, he would be fine. His psionic power could nourish him for weeks. Keep heading up. Keep going forward. If he followed those rules, nothing bad would happen to him.

However, he couldn't help but let out a sigh at the end of the day. He had no real idea where he was, and travelling alone was psyching _lonely._ How did Claus possibly manage to make his way down here without any problems? As Ninten went to lie down, he realized that he had nobody to stand guard for him while he slept. While travelling with Claus, they rested for twelve hours, each one of them sleeping for six hours and standing watch for six hours. Not an ideal setup, perhaps, but a necessary one.

Here, Ninten needed to find a way to conceal himself while he slept. He didn't _think_ that a random miner would kill him on sight, but he didn't want to take the risk. After all, Ninten's psionic aura turned itself off while he slept. Without his protective aura, he was just as killable as, well… anyone else.

Ninten chuckled, realizing just how horrifying going into the mines could be without a partner. It hadn't really dawned on him until then that miners had to fear for their lives on a daily basis. If they met the wrong person, they would find themselves either dead and tossed aside or joining a division that would work them until they died. At least Ninten had his psionic powers to protect him. Regular miners played a far more treacherous game.

Was that what Morgan wanted him to understand? For some reason, Ninten found himself almost _appreciating_ the sentiment. He should attempt to understand the conditions of Vulcanese miners before buying goods with Vulcan-mined crystals. Could he really use psionic devices, knowing that every crystal mined shed its weight in tears?

But then again, psionic appliances were basically impossible to avoid. Sure, he could use fires instead of stoves, but where would he do that on Ceres? Everyone would view him as a lunatic! Still, Ninten resolved to try that once he got back to Ceres. _If_ he got back to Ceres. Without psionic crystals, he couldn't even travel back to Ceres or Earth because all spaceships used crystals. What a mess!

Was _this_ what his generation had to solve? A system that sucked all of the hope and life out of innocent Vulcanese? The easiest solution would be to force the companies to treat their workers better, but what about the toxic gases? Well, they could mine somewhere else… Unless all of underground Vulcan was so vile. And even then, wouldn't the crystals run out eventually? What happened then?

Ninten clutched his head, but this time Morgan had nothing to do with his headache. How could he possibly solve all of these problems?

Relax. Deep breaths. Ninten closed his eyes, clearing his mind. First, he needed to find a place to hide. After a few minutes of searching, he found a crevice that wasn't rocky enough to pierce his skin and lay relatively far out of sight.

Ninten tried to fall asleep, but his mind kept wandering back to Morgan's lesson. Was she right? Should the people of Vulcan band together and instate a new emperor? Should that emperor be… him? So many questions, and Ninten didn't have the answers. After what felt like days of contemplation, Ninten fell asleep.

He woke up sore the next day. With a groan, he pulled himself out of his crevice and took his breastplate off. Being the psyching _idiot_ that he was, Ninten fell asleep last night before remembering to take it off. He threw the breastplate on the ground, sending it scattering with a few _clangs_. The armor slowed him down enough that he didn't really want to wear it anyway.

It took him a minute to remember which way down the tunnel he should go.

"Psych it," he said out loud. "I guess Claus really did everything for me, huh?"

The hours passed the same as the day before. In the moment, Ninten couldn't stop thinking about how _long_ it took to go anywhere, but as the day dragged on it seemed like he'd only been marching for a few minutes. Luckily, nourishing his body with energy took up surprisingly little of his psionic energy.

"Beep, boop," Ninten said in a mechanical voice. "I am a robot. I refuel myself and exist to walk forward. Beep, boop."

He thought that he was joking, but he couldn't tell for sure.

After a few more hours, he arrived at another alcove and decided to sleep. Once again, it took him hours to fall asleep on the jagged, rocky ground. Only after he found a spot where nothing jabbed into his back could he drift off into a deep sleep. He dreamed of trees the size of mountains, colorful finches chirping in unison, and a city made of stained glass.

After that, the days started to merge with each other in Ninten's memory. On the third day, he found a pair of bodies lying on the ground. He took their pulse and found no signs of life. He tried to cry for these people who nobody else would remember, but the tears wouldn't come.

On the fourth day, he found a pool of brown water in a cramped cavern. He took one look at the water before deciding that he didn't want to take his chances getting sick. His psionic powers would nourish him for weeks.

On the fifth day, Ninten realized that he had absolutely no idea where he was. He thought he could follow Claus' directions with ease, but now he could have easily been further away from his destination than when he started. He figured that he was closer to the surface than when he started, but he didn't even feel sure about that. After all, most of the tunnels went up and down erratically. What kind of mine _was_ this?

After about a week, Ninten didn't even see the light coming from the psionic crystal as purple anymore. A color like purple implied that there were others. Because all of the light was purple, none of the light was purple. Saying that the crystal's light was purple was like saying that the sun's light was white. He knew in his head that it must be true, but he just didn't _see_ it. He wondered if other miners eliminated other colors from their eyes like he did.

In the next weeks that followed, Ninten started to wonder if he was going insane. He talked to himself so that he could exercise both his vocal cords and his ears. He talked about whatever came to mind, letting himself ramble on about Morgan, Claus, Vulcan, Ceres, the empirists, and how he fit into all of it.

After what must have been weeks, Ninten started to run low on psionic energy. Death started to seem like a possible outcome, since it appeared that nobody would bail him out of this situation. He tried to ration his psionic power more carefully, but that left him with less endurance. His pace slowed to a practical crawl.

At first, Ninten beat himself up for not finding Gerardo Montague more quickly. After a few more days, Ninten was too tired to care.

"Hmm," Ninten said to himself, hardly able to keep his eyes open. "These mines really take all of the will out of me. Ness, Ana, Paula, Claus… You all seem like a distant memory. Not much of that matters to me anymore. Hmm. I wonder why I haven't met any more miners."

Ninten considered giving up and dying alone in the mines. A small voice inside of his head screamed at him. His father hadn't made him give up, his grandfather Coran hadn't made him give up… psych, even the slaver Alsom Garrickson couldn't make him give up while he was suspended in the air. So why could Morgan break him so easily with this task of hers?

An idea swam in the back of Ninten's mind. Hesitantly, he grasped it, reaching out with his hands in an attempt to physically touch the idea.

 _Autohypnosis._

Ninten blinked. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of it earlier? He could hypnotize himself into remembering everything that he saw and play it back in his mind like a television show. That way, he would ensure that he wouldn't backtrack.

With a renewed sense of vigor, Ninten set back off to get out of this deathtrap alive.

In a few hours, Ninten made more progress than he had in the past few days. He remembered exactly where he started so that whenever he sensed that he was going too far down, he could retrace his steps to the nearest fork in the road and take the other direction (not that there were very many of those). After a few more hours, he saw something lying on the ground. His heart pounded in his chest. Maybe it was a sign of the division that Claus told him about!

Ninten walked over and examined the item: sleek, smooth breastplate. Who would leave good breastplate like that lying around in a tunnel?

An idea came to Ninten's head. He took a step back, shaking his head. No. Just… No! It couldn't be. Taking a deep breath, Ninten examined the breastplate more closely. Now that he saw it closely, he couldn't deny it.

This breastplate was Ninten's own that he had thrown aside earlier.

In a few weeks, he had gone in one giant circle.

Ninten punched the rocky wall. His fist bled, but he didn't care. After all of this time, he had gone absolutely _nowhere._ How could he have possibly let that happen?

Ninten cried himself to sleep that night.

The next day, Ninten's psionic reserves ran out. Lack of food or water was basically a death sentence. Sure, he could survive for a week without either, but not while travelling. Ninten walked as far as he could, using his autohypnosis to ignore the pain, until he started to feel himself collapse.

 _One shot left…_

Ninten looked at the crystal providing light in his hand. He could suck up the crystal's energy and use it to sustain him for another day, but that would leave him unable to see. How was he supposed to go anywhere without his sight?

But then again, he couldn't do anything at all while knocked out.

Ninten's hands shook as he absorbed the crystal's psionic energy, leaving himself in a pitch black tunnel. He tried to feel his way around the tunnel, but gave up after a few hours. There was no way that he could save himself, not like this. Ninten could feel sleep beckoning to him. So… tired…

Would he ever wake up if he fell asleep now?

Ninten didn't care. He just wanted it to all end, either way. He thought about Ness, Ana, Paula, and Mimmie, unable to remember why he should care about them. Ninten knew that before the trip to the mines, he valued his philosophies and emotional connections more than life itself. Now he couldn't care less.

He searched his heart for any semblance of compassion and could only find a shred of wry humor, humor that everything that he cared about could be rendered meaningless so easily.

Ninten closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him. Right before he drifted off, he thought that he heard someone walking towards him.


	11. Chapter 10: Hestia

**Um... yeah. In my time zone, it's still Friday. :(**

 **This is another one of those chapters where not a whole lot happens, but I think that both parts are valuable to the story. One of the nice things about fanfiction is that I don't need to cut out all of the stuff that I would for a real novel (most novels are 80-100k words and this is already like 65k and we're not even close to being done :x). But again, I wouldn't post this if it didn't provide anything to the overall story. I value your guys' time more than that. ;) I hope that you like it anyways! Things should pick up next chapter.**

 **Also, there's a Dr. Andonuts PoV at the beginning. Just letting you guys know that it's not Claus' thoughts being shown. xD Also, "edumacation" is mispeled on purpose (as is "mispeled").**

 **As always, feel more than welcome to review!**

 **And now that I think about it, thanks for sticking with me for this long, sequel to another long fic. I really want to finish up the Ceres trilogy because I want to get the experience of writing a series, and you guys make it so much easier to keep going. Since this part is taking so long, I thought that I'd offer a quick peek into what's going to happen in the second part of this sequel:**

 **It's going to be mostly set on Earth in Onett, Twoson, Podunk, Winters, and Dalaam. Be prepared to see a lot of familiar faces from planets Ceres and Vulcan, though. :)**

 **...Now that I think about it, that seems like a lot to pack in. Let's hope that this doesn't stretch out too long. xD**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Yeah, Morgan's a little off her rocker right now. She's one of the characters that interests me the most, actually. I mentioned this quite a bit while writing City of Progress, but it really feels like my characters have minds of their own. Picking apart my characters to see why they act the way that they do is quite entertaining. :) So I guess I'm trying to say we're going to get even more insight on Morgan later. Yes, more on savants coming this chapter. :) The details of what Morgan's trying to teach Ninten should come in ch. 12. Yeah, isolation is pretty nasty. But even more than that, the fact that Ninten's struggling to survive makes it so that he can't really worry about higher-level stuff like morality. I actually agree with you; I like it when protags are genuinely good people and it annoys me when they do really bad things. So I would argue that Ninten is a genuinely good person on the side of justice but not really in a state where he can do much right now. :) It's just that his weakened state is mental as much as physical.

 **Paula-Ana:** Well, I'm glad that my writing affected you, although I'm sorry that you're sad. :( *hands tissue* Ah, I actually added that line in while editing. I guess it's a good thing that I did. Ah, thanks! :) This chapter isn't quite as feelsy but I hope that you like it anyway. Which version of Fates do you have? :)

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** Ah, I was fine. Just not feeling it. I wasn't Shulk last Friday. :( Ah, thanks! :D Still, I could never write an entire romance novel because a lot of the conflicts that happen in those kinds of books don't really fit with my characters. They're pretty tolerant of a few misunderstandings (as am I, or so I like to believe). I'm surprised that you haven't heard much of Fire Emblem before then. Awakening was a pretty big deal. I was kind of excited for the new pokemon game until I realized that they're probably going to be basically the same thing as all of the other ones. :/ Maybe I'm just cynical. Glad that you find my humor funny. Making people laugh has never been my strong suit. Yep, Dr. Andonuts wrote the sections at the top of each chapter (and someone is providing the commentary). He's a little strange, isn't he?

Yes, the psionic savant thing does have to do with Lucas. :) I try to make that pretty obvious by the end of the Dr. Andonuts part of this chapter. And sowwy for the sudden depressing part. D: Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone would go insane down there. O.O Nah, it's normal to talk to yourself. Sometimes the things that I say to myself don't make a whole lot of sense (often they're just blurbs) but I think even that is pretty normal. It's just something that people don't talk about a lot. Heh, I probably would have died inside as well. Even Ninten kinda did, and he's probably stronger mentally than I am. And just wait until the Ninten part of the chapter... we'll see what happens then. :D

 **A Fan:** It's cool. I totally get that people have a real life outside of fanfiction. :)

Yep, Dues ex person indeed. I'll admit that it's strange how Ninten encountered a person right as he fell unconscious, but that won't be explained fully for a while. And no, that's not just a minor thing; it's complete negligence on my part. Thanks for the heads up. :) I can see why you would think about it... because both psionic savants and that cruiser sound extremely specialized. See you later! :)

* * *

 **Journal Entry: December 23, 65 A. F.**

 _Well, it's been quite some time since I've written in this crotchety old thing. In fact, I suppose that I haven't written in it at all since that excruciatingly long entry almost two years ago. Even though only I will ever see these words, I'll stop mumbling and get to the point._

 _I stumbled upon something with untapped potential. Even now, my hand trembles as I scribble these words down. Nothing that I've ever invented, stoves, portable communicators, teleportation devices… nothing can match this. I would talk more about it, but I'm somehow afraid of saying more, even to myself._

 _I guess I can only say one thing: today is a great day for science._

* * *

Dr. Andonuts fiddled with a round, metal machine that stood taller than him. The contraption almost looked like an animal, with eyes painted on the front, a bulbous nose extending from the spherical body, stubby feet providing support, and a little bow placed on top for aesthetic design.

"What are you working on?" Claus asked.

Dr. Andonuts looked outside of his lab, spotting snowflakes float down in front of the window. That explained it. Claus generally spent midday trekking outside, but the thick snow made that next to impossible today. A little Winters hospitality, so to speak.

"I call this the phase distorter," Dr. Andonuts said, stretching out the word "phase" for dramatic effect. "Do you like it?"

Claus cocked his head, looking at the giant hunk of metal. By now, Dr. Andonuts had almost gotten used to the boy's eyepatch and breastplate combination. Almost.

"It looks like you based it off of a five-year old's drawing," Claus said. "It vaguely resembles an animal, but those feet are too stubby to balance it. What does it do?"

"It distorts phases, of course!" Dr. Andounts exclaimed. "Duh!"

"And that means…?" Claus asked.

"Right now? Not much."

"Ah. Why am I not surprised?"

"Hmph," Dr. Andonuts muttered. "You young'uns don't understand. This is the way that I function. Back in _my_ day…" Dr. Andonuts grinned as Claus gritted his teeth. It appeared that his imitation of a grumpy old man was too close for comfort.

"Please, spare me," Claus said, clasping his hands together. "I'm too young to die of boredom!"

Huh. So the kid had a sense of humor. Maybe Dr. Andonuts had rubbed off on him.

"So, how long has it been since I kidnapped you?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "A few weeks?"

"Yeah," Claus whispered. He sighed, looking away. "I'm starting to worry about Ninten."

Well. Not much that either of them could do about that one.

"Uh… should we talk about something else?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "I can talk about the phase distorter; maybe that will bore you enough to forget about him. According to our records, a species of alien existed that actually looked like this. They're called Aphrodes, but I always called them Mr. Saturns as a kid."

"Mr. Saturn?" Claus asked, blinking twice.

"I was seven," Dr. Andonuts said. "Don't judge me. Apparently, they lived on Aphrodite along with the Osohe."

"Giving me a history lesson won't distract me from Ninten," Claus said.

 _Kids these days,_ Dr. Andonuts joked in his head. _They don't appreciate a good edumacation._

"Well," Dr. Andonuts said. "Made any progress on researching psionic savants?"

 _That_ got Claus' attention.

"Actually, yeah," he said. "You have so many books in this god-forsaken place that I actually learned quite a bit."

"Good," Dr. Andonuts said. "Maybe you can tell me what you learned? I don't think that I read all of them myself. I had far more important things to research, like the universe's smelliest location. Surprise! It's on Vulcan."

Claus' face soured. Right. Vulcan, Ninten. Dr. Andonuts made a mental note to avoid mentioning either one.

"Psionic savants are, like you said back in the mines, people who know so much about psionics that it starts to change them. Unlike regular humans, they can achieve 100% planar efficiency, meaning that no energy is lost travelling between the psionic realm and the physical realm. Because all psionics are manifested in the psionic realm, savants' psionics are far more powerful."

"Any old psion could tell you that," Dr. Andonuts said. "What else did you learn?"

"Apparently…" Claus trailed off. "Well, apparently the reason that these people have 100% planar efficiency is that their psionic essence becomes _part_ of their body. That seems a little silly, though."

"It's true," Dr. Andonuts said. "So what does that mean?"

"Well, for one, the savant wouldn't get an afterlife, would they?" Claus asked. "I mean, everyone has a cognitive essence in the psionic realm, right? That essence is what lives on after we die. But for these savants, their cognitive essence is part of their body. If they die, their essence dissipates."

 _Of course he would jump straight to that one,_ Dr. Andonuts thought. _Poor kid. It must weigh on him like a boulder._

"Some philosophers and priests theorize that we possess a soul that can survive beyond death separate from both our body and our cognitive essence," Dr. Andonuts said. "So they _could_ get an afterlife, potentially. But yes, you are essentially correct."

Claus' shoulders slouched in disappointment. He exhaled, shaking his head out of what Dr. Andonuts thought was guilt.

"I hoped that I was wrong," Claus whispered.

"We often do," Dr. Andonuts said. He wanted to support Claus, but that would require revealing just how much he knew about the kid's past. Claus would probably freak out at that. "So, how does it happen? How does someone become a savant?"

"Nobody knows," Claus said, "Except for Minerva Carpainter, apparently."

Really? So Dr. Andonuts _wasn't_ just lazy with his research.

"Weaknesses?" he asked.

"None," Claus whispered, his mouth forming into a sneer. "A savant that knows conventional psionics could harness indescribable amounts of power. Luckily, a savant that I've heard of isn't one of those. Still, he's more or less invincible when he wants to be."

"So do you still want to try?" Dr. Andonuts asked.

"Try what?"

"Try to kill him, of course."

"You… know about that?" Claus asked, his eyes narrowing. "Who told you?"

"We spied on you in the steel cube. Wasn't hard to figure out who you were after."

"Right," Claus said, his muscles relaxing. "But it shouldn't be that hard to kill him. I just sneak into the lab on Vulcan and kill him, right? He's basically in a coma."

"Not anymore."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, he broke out," Dr. Andonuts said. "Along with another one of Minerva's creations."

"You're lying."

"Feel free to think that," Dr. Andonuts said with what he hoped was an insufferable smile.

Claus growled like a dog, searching for a lie in Dr. Andonuts' eyes.

"I'll show you proof once Ninten gets out of the mines," Dr. Andonuts said.

"Oh, hello," Claus said coolly.

It took Dr. Andonuts a second to realize that Claus was talking to someone behind him. He turned around to spot Morgan, wearing a thankfully sane look on her face.

"Pan," she said. "This is urgent. Did you hear-"

"Yep," Dr. Andonuts said. "I would crack a joke about it, but even I'm not that callous."

"I swear that I'm going to rip Minerva's heart out of her beating chest," Morgan hissed.

"Good luck doing that to someone with psionic stall."

Morgan's face grew red with anger before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When her eyes opened, her face looked as serene as a silent pond. Maybe Morgan and Ana Aniah were more similar than the thought…

"We need to discuss something," Morgan said. Looking at Claus, "In private."

"Righty-o," Dr. Andonuts said. "Do you want to walk out like normal human beings, or-"

"Teleport," Morgan said.

"-Or that."

The world paled and faded around Dr. Andonuts. A second later, he stood on top of a snowy hill. Snowflakes danced through the air and landed on his bald head, chilling his skin.

"Did you have to pick this place?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "It's cold."

"You're a psion," Morgan said, rolling her eyes. "Use some psionics to warm yourself up."

"Don't like to, out of a habit," Dr. Andonuts said. "What would happen if the word got out that I could use psionics yet there were no records of Dr. Andonuts ever doing such a thing? Just look at what's happening to 'Mr. Agerate' right now."

"So you're going to stand here in the cold?"

"Basically, yeah. My paranoia has kept me alive this long, after all."

"Heh," Morgan said, a slight smile showing through. "First of all, I wanted to apologize for what I said to you in the mines. Your advice helped me out, but I didn't want to accept it out of fear that I couldn't do everything myself. I'm sorry."

Well, nice to know that Morgan was still herself… Mostly.

"Don't mention it," Dr. Andonuts said. "You know how I get at times. I hide a little bit of insanity under this mask that I wear. Compared to that, you're doing pretty well."

"That _did_ always intrigue me," Morgan said. "I'm starting to see why you created this persona, Pan. It's easier to allocate parts of your personality. Take all of the ones you don't like and say that they belong to the other guy."

 _Except it's not nearly that clean,_ Dr. Andonuts thought. _A lot of my attributes as Dr. Andonuts need serious improvement._

"So I assume that you didn't just come here to apologize?" he asked. "Knowing you, I need to catch up on dozens of new schemes that you came up with."

"Perceptive," Morgan said, and Dr. Andonuts couldn't tell whether or not she was mocking him. "Ninten is nearing the exit of the cave… in a way. Let's just say that he'll be out in a day, tops. We should be there to meet him."

"Why me?" Dr. Andonuts asked.

"Because he infuriates me and I want you to keep me from killing him if he does something stupid," Morgan said with a falsely sweet smile.

"Well, you don't bother to beat around the bush."

"Remember? I resolved to tell the truth as loud and clear as I can. I need to have _some_ morals to set me apart from Minerva."

 _On the other side of the spectrum, my entire body is a lie,_ Dr. Andonuts thought. _But lies aren't really wrong. They're just a weapon. They're usually used to harm, but they can be used to protect. And sometimes, lying is a matter of self-defense. Imagine if Minerva did reveal every atrocity that she's ever committed. Ceres would dissolve into chaos._

 _Not that chaos is always a bad thing, either._

"I do recall that," Dr. Andonuts said. "When do you want to head over to Vulcan?"

"I'll come get you," Morgan said. "I just wanted to warn you beforehand."

"Sounds good. Now, can I head back to my lab? It has this wonderful thing called heating."

Morgan laughed.

"All right, Pan!" she said. "See you later."

"See you, sis."

* * *

Sore. Every muscle in Ninten's body felt like it had been compressed, squished together for so long that it could no longer stretch itself out.

Ninten blinked his eyes open, his eyes registering a blur of grey. Ninten blinked, and he could make out a jagged wall right in front of him.

 _Not… dead?_ he thought. _Hmph. Should be._

Ninten yawned, raising his arms up to stretch them out. His muscles burned with pain, but some sort of inner desire kept him stretching.

"Finally awake, huh?"

Ninten turned around, finding himself face to face with a middle aged man in a dusty mining suit. Unlike the miners in the Ares division, he didn't walk with a hunch, nor did he possess the hollow eyes that Ninten had grown to expect from the miners. He looked like a full, functioning human.

How sad it was that Ninten was surprised by the fact.

"Who… are you?" Ninten whispered, his voice hoarse.

"Shh," the man said. "Just rest. You need it."

He walked over and put a bowl of water next to Ninten. Ninten looked at the water and his body urged him to plunge his entire head into the bowl and swallow as much water as possible in one gulp. Was he really that thirsty? He looked at the man, blinking his eyes. What did he want? To taunt Ninten? To trick him by drugging the water?

"Go ahead," the man said. "It's for you. You look all shriveled up. I don't even know how a person can survive with that little water in their body."

 _My psionics gave me the energy to stay alive,_ Ninten thought. _But I guess I needed the water for structural support. It does make up a vast majority of my body's volume._

"We can talk later," the man said. "Just drink some water and rest. I'll bring some food later."

Ninten took another look at the water. Spiked? In this state, Ninten wouldn't see the signs if it did contain a drug. Sometimes, a drug's smell could give it away, but Ninten's nose refused to work right now.

 _Eh,_ he thought. _I guess I don't have a choice. After all, this is my second lease on life._

Ninten pressed the ceramic bowl to his lips, finding it refreshingly cool. After the first sip of water, he realized just how thirsty he was. He drank until he nearly passed out from not breathing. That didn't make sense. Shouldn't his nose have allowed him to breathe? As Ninten panted, he looked up at the man, checking for the reaction. He only looked mildly pleased, which could mean any number of things.

"Just rest," the man said. "We'll talk later."

Ninten nodded. In this state, a toddler could keep up his side of a conversation better than he could.

* * *

After… a few hours passed? A few days? Ninten didn't know. After some time had passed, Ninten regained most of his basic functions, such as balance, coherent thought, and analytical skills. The time before seemed hazy, as if a psion had gone into his mind and clouded those memories.

Ninten quickly learned that the man he met earlier lead a division of miners, but this one didn't appear nearly as cutthroat as the Ares division. Ninten racked his mind, trying to come up with a logical explanation why. Maybe they wanted to put on a friendly face in front of new recruits to get them excited before showing the darker side of their organization. Yes, that was probably it.

Shortly after Ninten returned to full function, the same man approached him again. Ninten looked around, noting the small size and secluded nature of this room. The man could do pretty much anything to Ninten without anyone knowing.

"How did you end up here?" the man asked. "I mean… look at your clothes. They're nice. Miners wear rags, not Ceres-made robes."

"I'm surprised that you haven't taken my clothes yet," Ninten said. "Surely you know that they will fetch a high price?"

"And there's the Ceres style of speaking. 'Surely you know…' Heh. So formal. But enough about that. What's your story?"

Ninten scowled.

"I'm not from Ceres," he said. "Well, I'm not a Ceres native, anyway. I come from Earth."

"And you ended up on Ceres, and now here," the man mused. "Are you a psionic initiate?"

Ninten gritted his teeth. Why did he have to say that he came from Earth? Of course the only Ceresian-Earth natives were psions of some sort.

"I take that as a yes," the man said. "And you're here with Monotoli?"

"How do you know so much?" Ninten asked. "No offense, but don't you just kind of sit around in a cave and try to make ends meet? What does Ceres matter to you?"

"I like your honesty," the man said with a smile. "Although it could be Ceresian overconfidence. Ceres matters a lot to me, especially when they ignore us for 80 years and intervene now in a way that makes everything worse. Believe it or not, we Vulcanese have morals too."

"It's not that you're Vulcanese," Ninten whispered. "It's that you're a miner. I've been down here long enough to know what they take away from us. By the end, everything that I had ever cared about meant _nothing_ to me. And that was after a few weeks. For someone like you who's probably been down here for months or even years…"

The man's face turned from disapproving to empathetic. He nodded, offering a sad smile.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I assumed that you were like the other psions."

"Well, you know what they say about assuming," Ninten said, his voice hardly above a whisper. "It makes an ass out of you and me."

"Well, I think that you're the first rescue to joke with me," the man said. "You are right that most people lose their sense of right and wrong down here in the mines. That's why this division is devoted to helping everyone out. I've been doing this for decades, and it's easy to hang onto your morals when you're part of a real community."

" _Decades?_ " Ninten asked. "Didn't the toxic fumes kill you?"

"Not when I stop mining and go to the surface to clear out my sinuses every once in a while, just like everyone else in this division does. Everyone should get a chance to live. Lives aren't expendable. People aren't tools. Here, everyone gets what they need."

"So you just… help each other out?" Ninten said. "If I know one thing about life, it's that people will take advantage of the system. Who stops all of the freeloaders?"

"Most people who join us are rescues like you. They're grateful enough to do their fair share of work. There are a few who don't do as much as they should, so we vote to kick them out."

"So just because someone is disliked, they can be kicked out by a vote?" Ninten asked. "That sounds eerily similar to the cultist groups that are sprouting all across the planet."

"Would you prefer the alternative?" the man asked, looking Ninten in the eye. "Remember, you're only alive right now because I saved you. Any other division would have left you to die."

Ninten nodded slowly, processing the man's words as quickly as he could. It still concerned him that people in this division could just vote to kick someone out, essentially condemning them to death, but this man's system _did_ appear better than any other division down in the mines. Perhaps this communism was the symptom of suffering rather than the cause.

"So, am I to join your division?" Ninten asked. "I assume that I do not have many other options."

"Well," the man said, scratching his chin. "If you have a life on the surface, I can take you there. But yes, you can join our division if you want."

"Wait," Ninten said. "You'll take me back to the surface?"

"Of course," the man said. "I don't want to keep you here if you have a life up there."

Ninten blinked, expecting this illusion of good fortune to fade before him. Would someone just really… take him where he wanted to go?

"I get that face a lot," the man said. "You must think it's too good to be true, huh?"

In his state of shock, Ninten could only manage a nod.

"And you were only in here for three weeks?" the man asked. "Were you this distrustful before, or did the cave really change you that much?"

"A bit of both," Ninten admitted.

"Well, at least you bounce back quickly," the man said. "I bet that helps you lived on Ceres. So, when do you want to leave for the surface?"

"When do _I_ want to leave?" Ninten asked, not quite able to believe his ears.

"Unless you want to stay here with us. We could use another youngster."

"I just…" Ninten trailed off. "I guess I want to leave for the surface as soon as possible, if that's okay with you."

"Sure," the man said. "I have nothing better to do right now."

 _This can't be real,_ Ninten thought.

"All right," Ninten said. "I guess I'll…" Ninten's eyes widened, a chill running down his spine. "No."

"No?" the man asked. "No what?"

"I don't think that I can do this," Ninten said. "The last time that someone tried to lead me out of this cave, a psion appeared and took him away. I don't want the same to happen to you."

"That sounds like an interesting story, and I won't ask for the details," the man said. "But I'll still lead you to the surface. I can't leave you down here if you have a life up there."

"I don't want to put you in danger," Ninten said. "You've already done enough."

"Listen," the man said. "I _want_ to do this. I _want_ to put myself in danger for you. So are you going to suck up your pride and take the help, or are you going to leave both of us unhappy?"

 _Pride?_ Ninten thought. _Divine rulers know that I have none of that._

But the man's words made sense. If this man wanted to help Ninten and accepted the potential dangers, trying to hold him back would be selfish. If Ninten really cared about this man, he needed to respect his wishes.

"All right," Ninten said, swallowing a lump in his throat. "I accept your assistance. Thank you."

"That's the spirit!" the man said, flashing a rare smile. "It's nice to see that not all Ceresians value their pride more than anything else."

"I come from Earth, remember?"

"Ceres, Earth, it's all the same to us," the man said, waving his hand dismissively.

Ninten let himself smile. This almost felt like being back with Claus.

Almost.

"Before we leave, we should probably introduce ourselves," Ninten said. "The name's Ninten."

"No last name?" the man asked.

"No," Ninten lied. "Just Ninten."

"Ah, that's actually nice to see. Psions without a noble lineage, I mean. I'm the opposite. I'm stuck here, but my family actually goes a ways back into the nobility of the empire. My name's Gerardo Montague. It's nice to meet you."

Ninten blinked. Then he started laughing. After all this time…

"What's so funny?" Gerardo asked.

"Nothing," Ninten said, shaking his head as he continued to chuckle. "By the way, Claus says hi."

* * *

Ninten exited the Hestia division alongside Gerardo Montague. On his way out, Ninten paid close attention to the way that life functioned in the division. He hardly saw any conflict, which put him on edge. Generally, a place only appeared peaceful because it hid a particularly nasty secret underneath. After all, the communist "utopias" on Aphrodite a few centuries ago all fell apart in a spectacular fashion.

But did Ninten simply _want_ to believe that Gerardo was wrong? Did he want to prove to himself that the solution wasn't that easy? That since he had struggled through moral challenges, everyone else needed to as well? Ninten shook his head. How could he possibly distinguish instinct from bias?

He and Gerardo trekked through the tunnels for a few hours, making small talk along the way. Ninten told Gerardo about all of his friends back on the surface while the miner nodded along with a sad look in his eyes. Ninten wanted to ask if something happened to him, but it would be stupid to push his luck now.

They moved onto talking about mundane things, safe things. Ninten learned that Gerardo's favorite color was sky blue, his favorite food was a salad, and he enjoyed reading whenever he could get his hands on a book. Normally, Ninten would have teased him for appearing so proactive and perfect, but he started to find himself craving the fresh vegetables and inspirational literature that Gerardo talked about. Now that he didn't have to worry about survival, he realized just how much he missed his regular, healthy activities.

Ninten was smiling by the time that he could see the light from the surface shining through the exit to the cave. Upon seeing the beam of light, Ninten's heart skipped a beat. For a second he stood there with a gaping mouth, unable to do anything except for stare. The light was so pretty…

"Yeah, a lot of people do that when they see the way out," Gerardo said. "It really affects something deep inside of you, doesn't it?"

 _Something deep inside of me?_ Ninten thought. _No, it's just neural impulses in my brain telling me that the light is good._

Ninten took steps forward, hardly able to contain his energy. Everything could go back to the way it was… Psych, Ninten would even be happy to see his _parents_ after all of this.

As Ninten got closer, the light grew stronger, blinding him in its radiance. He pushed forward, not patient enough to let his pupils shrink. He focused on taking one step at a time until he finally exited the cave. Immediately, his sinuses halted the dull ache that Ninten had grown used to, leaving him in a sense of relief. Ninten felt the wind ruffle his hair and he closed his eyes, imagining himself overlooking a cliff with a lush valley below.

"Heh, most people act like that, too," came Gerardo's voice from inside the cave.

Ninten didn't care. He basked in the glory of the overworld, finally free of the mines that tried to contain him. He sniffed the air. It didn't smell bad, for Vulcan. Hardly any smoke or oil, at least. There was one scent that Ninten couldn't quite put his finger on. Funny, it almost smelled like…

 _No._

Even before Ninten's eyes snapped open, he knew exactly what he would see.


	12. Chapter 11: Mars

**Hi, everyone! :) Did anyone else have school off today, or was it just me? I'm guessing just me, since I think that it's a "grading day," but you never know. Spring Break's coming up soon for most people, right? Does anyone have cool plans?**

 **Right, the chapter. This one's a Ness POV. So yeah... the Ninten cliffhanger shall remain that way. ;) Unless, of course, you pick up clues on what happened to him from this chapter. I tried to make it not super hard to find, so... yeah, hopefully, I made the connection clear enough. And it might seem like the plot is moving super slowly, so I tried to pick things up this chapter. Hopefully, enough stuff happens to justify the 5.5k words devoted to it. :)**

 **As always, thanks for reading and feel more than welcome to review. :) I know that this story is super weird and AU, so I really appreciate you guys for sticking with me. I think I scared off a lot of people with the high learning curve in the form of a complex fantasy setting haha.**

 **Now, onto the reviews!**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Another cliffhanger at the end of this one! :D Although, you might be able to figure it out... we'll see. And Gerardo Montague is an actual character in EB. I didn't mean to base it off of Shakespeare. xD Yep, you're right about why Claus wants to kill Lucas. Heh, a lot of people are related. :D I'm trying to force myself not to make _everyone_ related to Ninten, but Dr. Andonuts won't be his last relative to show up in this fic. Yeah, I generally don't like writing about protags who are bad people. Their moral struggles are usually quite temporary (dunno if that's the best way to do it, but meh). So while Ninten might die in the future, I can pretty much promise that he won't turn into a monster. :D Chapter 12 is the one after this. Prologue doesn't count. :) Hmm... is there anything in particular that you feel like I should have restated in the last chapter to make it more clear? Thanks! :)

 **crabby Tomato:** ._. That Hamlet reference though (one of the few Shakespeare plays that I actually read haha). And Gerardo's actually a character from EB. :) Yeah, after Dr. Andonuts killed the tension, I wasn't really in a rush to build it back up. Better to reveal more about Morgan's character (she's complex enough that even I find out new stuff about her from time to time :/). Yeah, I heard of the "cake is a lie" thing in pop culture and I was thinking of that, but I didn't know that it was from Portal. Stuff like that happens with the internet. xD Ah, thanks. :) I was pleased with the way that I incorporated the Mr. Saturn name into the story myself. Because this fic is pretty serious, their official name being "Mr. Saturn" wouldn't exactly work. xD The next Claus POV is ch. 13 (I think?), so we'll see what he's doing then. :) Claus appears a lot in chs 13-17 though, so you'll probably be sick of him by the end. xD

Yep, the hidden identities thing is something that I was planning on revealing later (like at the end of this entire installment), but I figured that I should probably give you guys a little more info right now. So yeah, neither Mr. Agerate nor Dr. Andonuts are really what they seem. Actually, I just pictured the chest beating _with_ the heart and thought that "beating chest" sounded more vivid than "beating heart" but now that I think about it, it does provoke a decent image of Minerva's shriveled heart not working and her chest having to go through the mechanical action instead. Nice catch. :) *coughs* Yeah, this chapter has kind of a cliffhanger as well. And it comes chronologically after some of the stuff in ch. 12. At least I'm not close to the worst with that sort of thing. xD I read a book where one POV took over 200k words to reach a spot that chronologically happened the previous in a different POV. xD

 **PSIBoy:** Ah, that's good. Boring writing is usually not fun to read. :) Specific brain parts? I guess that might just come from my obsession with psychology. ;) But yeah, I agree with the point later in your parentheses that it's not _necessarily_ bad depending on the circumstances. I would have to read it over again to check and I'm feeling lazy. Ah, thanks! :) What doctor would that be? Yep, the process to create a psionic savant is entirely artificial, unlike actual savants. And we'll see about Claus. :) And Gerardo. And hey, main characters don't _always_ make it. I could list a couple of examples off the top of my head, but then it would spoil things if you ever wanted to read them. xD

 **A Fan:** Yep, it looks like Jeff is related to Ninten. Crazy, huh? Was not really on the front of my mind when thinking about that "twist." Morgan and Andonuts are part of the Lorune family, not the Carpainter family. :) But no, Jeff doesn't have psionics. He went to Onett to get awakened and he didn't end up having powers. It can happen where families of psions can have non-psionic children. In Pokey's interlude, it was revealed that in the time of the empire, noble families would often kill the children who couldn't use psionics because they were a "disgrace." Yikes! Ah, yes, a line. ;) They're making a comeback thanks to WWF intervention. Yep, you're right. It's not that easy. :) Hey, I don't mind if your reviews are short! :) I just appreciate that you took the time to review at all!

* * *

 **Note:** This one's another chunky entry, so I divided it again. I can empathize with this one. I think there's a point in everyone's life where they realize that something is horribly wrong. It's how we deal with that feeling that defines us. I chose to stand up and fight. Minerva chose to hide and pretend that it never happened.

I still don't know which one Dr. Andonuts chose.

* * *

 **Journal Entry: January 8, 79 A.D.**

 _It's been over 13 years since I picked up this tattered book. Over 13 years since the event that changed my life. Over 13 years since the birth of my son._

 _I don't think that I can stay sane. Not after what I've seen. I suppose that I should state this frankly, without sugar-coating it._

 _Minerva Carpainter destroyed Aphrodite using the nuclear weapons that I created._

 _I want to strike back, but I'm frozen stiff. I cry and cry and cry, knowing that the tears are my body's way of taking the edge off of the pain. How many lives did I unwittingly sentence to death when I first discovered how to utilize nuclear fission? Is there anything that I can ever do to make up for it?_

 _I don't think there is. The universe does not forget. The universe does not forgive._

 _The Shard of Ceres will remember this for all eternity._

* * *

"You will be leaving in three days," Geldegarde Monotoli said, sitting behind his metal desk with his hands clasped together. "I do not think that Minerva should have let you come here in the first place. A war is no place for children."

Ness bit his lip. If he hadn't taken so long to recover, maybe Secretary Montoli would have given him and Ana some more time.

"Children get caught up in wars all the time, secretary," Ana said, her voice confident enough to match Monotoli's own. "At least we had a choice."

"Perhaps," Monotoli said. "But just because some children die in wars doesn't justify sending more over to fight."

Ana nodded, swallowing slowly. Ness secretly thanked the Divine Rulers. Even though Monotoli made him uncomfortable, Ana getting into an argument with him wouldn't make things any better.

"After three days, we get our month-long break from school, right?" Ana asked. "It's going to feel weird to go back home after this."

Ness shrugged. What was he supposed to do with himself for a whole month? Then again, he really didn't have much invested on Vulcan… Or on Ceres.

"Secretary Monotoli," Ness whispered. "You gave Captain Strong the permission to use the soldiers to attack Vulcanese civilians, right?"

"Miss Aniah already approached me about that," Monotoli said, his voice growing cold. "Yes, I trust Strong to do what he needs to. I think that the crowd required a little show of force."

 _You don't feel guilty at all?_ Ness wanted to shout.

"Now, don't give me that look," Monotoli said. "What would you have done? Let the cultists walk all over you? They don't know the meaning of civility."

"Negotiate," Ness whispered. "Send the soldiers away so that they don't get spooked. Let me use PK Rockin to knock them over. Anything other than _killing_ them."

"You know PK Rockin?" Ana asked. "And you never told me? What else are you hiding from me? You're not cheating on me, are you?"

"N-No!" Ness protested, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. "I would never…"

"Kidding, kidding," Ana said with a grimace. "I guess I'm not funny, huh? But still, you know _PK Rockin…_ "

"Disregarding mythical psionics and Miss Aniah's attempt at humor," Monotoli cut in, "The cultists were not in a state where Captain Strong could reason with them. Mob mentality causes people to act in unreasonable ways. Unfortunately, I was forced to enact the same policy on different occasions, resulting in unneeded casualties."

Geldegarde Monotoli spoke in his same, dry tone, even while talking about killing civilians. The way that he used fancy words like "casualties" to take some of the edge off of the atrocity made Ness' heart pound with anger.

"I already talked to him about this," Ana said, putting a hand on Ness' shoulder. "He won't listen and then he wonders why more cultist bands keep popping up."

"Careful, Miss Aniah," Monotoli said, wagging a finger. "Remember how we talked about your problem with authority?"

"What are you going to do?" Ana asked. "Discharge me? I'm going home in three days anyway!"

"You don't want me as your enemy," Monotoli whispered, his voice dangerously soft.

Ness shivered, looking into Monotoli's eyes and finding no semblance of humor or mercy. Ana faltered, opening and closing her mouth several times without speaking.

"…I'm sorry," she finally said. "It won't happen again. May I go now?"

"You may," Monotoli said. "Just watch your tongue. Both of you do not need to go any more missions. Do whatever you wish for your remaining days on Vulcan… So long as you abide by the rules."

 _What even are all the rules?_ Ness wondered. _What exactly are we allowed to do?_

Ana gave a curt bow and walked out of the room, every muscle in her body tense. Ness followed after her, bracing himself for what she would do when outside. He walked down the metal stairs and out the door, adjusting his face mask so that he would take in as little pollution as possible.

"Ana," Ness said. "Is everything all right?"

Ana stopped short of a busy street. She turned around to face Ness and her body relaxed.

"Yeah, of course," she said. "You didn't think that I was going to take out my annoyance on _you,_ right?"

"No," Ness lied.

Ana snorted.

"Really, Ness," she said, her voice softening. "If I scare you, please tell me. I promise that I would never want to hurt you or make you uncomfortable."

"Thanks," Ness said. For some reason, hearing Ana's voice always made him forget about his worries.

"But man," she said. "PK Rockin, huh? My mom can use that, but only a mimicked version. You can use the real one?"

"I… think so?"

"That's awesome!" Ana said. "Just think of all the untapped psionic potential you have!"

"Uh, yeah," Ness said. "Let's work on that later. I actually want to go somewhere, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to go with me."

"Sure!" Ana said. "I'll go anywhere you want."

"It's the prisoner camp."

"…Except for maybe there."

Ness' heart sunk into his stomach. Would he have to go there alone?

"Nah, I'm just kidding," Ana said. "Really, my jokes have been coming across the wrong way today. I'm sorry."

"I don't think that you need to apologize for that," Ness said hastily. "I mean, it's my fault for being too stupid to get the joke."

"I'm fine taking the blame for this one," Ana said. "I'm not _that_ proud. But why do you want to go to the prisoner camp?"

"I found Lloyd talking to a prisoner there," Ness said. "He was an empirist psion."

"I assume you mean the prisoner and not Lloyd," Ana said.

"Er… Yeah. I thought that the prisoner might have seen Lloyd since he left. I still have no idea where he is."

"So you went to the prison before?" Ana asked. "All by yourself?"

"Um… Is there something wrong with that?"

"No," Ana said. "I'm just surprised. Sure, let's check on the prisoner who may or may not know where Lloyd is. I mean, we don't have anything better to do."

"Thanks," Ness said, breathing a sigh of relief. "What would I do without you?"

"You sounded a lot like Ninten there," Ana said, her face turning downcast. "He used to be more like you, actually. Well, like you but more confident." Ana shook her head. "Well, nothing that I can do about that. Come on, let's head over to the prison camp. This sounds like it will be a happy adventure!"

 _Really?_ Ness thought. _Ninten was like me?_ _What happened?_

"At least I got that joke," Ness said, smiling to cover up his concern.

* * *

"Looks like you didn't bother to tell me about the guards," Ana whispered, pointing at the ectoplasmic warriors standing right outside the prison camp. "How did you get past those?"

Even with his face mask on, Ness coughed from all of the smoke. No wonder that they were the only two people here. He blinked repeatedly, trying to get the sting of pollution out of his eyes.

"Monotoli controls them," Ness said. "Before, I said that I was looking for Lloyd and he let me in. Maybe I could use the same excuse…?" Ness trailed off as Ana frowned.

"I guess we can do that," Ana said. "I don't like relying on other people's goodwill, but it doesn't look like we have a better option."

Ness followed Ana as she walked up to the ectoplasmic soldiers. Something about the way that Ana walked seemed mechanical, calculated. Ness bit his lip.

 _"You again, soldier?"_ Ness heard in his mind. _"And Miss Aniah. What do you want with the prison camp this time?"_

"We're looking for Lloyd again," Ana said, crossing her arms over her chest. "We think that he might have wandered in here."

 _"I should get actual guards to do this,"_ Monotoli muttered telepathically through the soldiers. _"But I can't spare psions. President Carpainter and her budget… I know that extradimensional travel is expensive, but psions alone don't win a war."_

"May we enter, sir?" Ana asked, raising an eyebrow.

 _"Ness is allowed. You are not."_

"What?" Ana asked, giving the soldiers a skeptical look. "Why?"

 _"You have problems with authority. I do not trust you with the prisoners. If you wanted to, you could free them and teleport out. I know that Ness doesn't have enough psionic skill for that."_

"We're on the same side!" Ana exclaimed.

 _"That's a no, soldier. I don't trust you enough."_

Right as Ana opened her mouth to speak, Ness grabbed her hand.

"It's okay," he said. "We only need one person to look, after all. Is there anything that you want me to do besides searching for Lloyd?"

Ana's body relaxed. She turned to Ness, searching for uncertainty in his eyes.

"You're really okay on your own?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ness said. "I did this before, remember?"

"I… suppose that you did," Ana said, nodding slowly. A smile came to her face. "Sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you weren't capable of acting alone." She turned back to the ectoplasmic warrior. "Very well, Secretary. I shall wait for Ness outside, if that is acceptable."

 _"Go back to the barracks. I don't want to spend this time monitoring you."_

"All right," Ana said, taking a full step backwards. "Off I go. Good luck, Ness! If you need me, I'll be back at the barracks like Secretary Monotoli suggested."

 _"Also, don't even think about contacting him with your portocom,"_ Monotoli said telepathically. _"I can detect that, you know."_

"Of course," Ana said, flashing a smile. "You're right. I _didn't_ even think about it."

 _Uh… is she mocking him?_ Ness thought.

"Now," Ana said. "Good luck getting information on Lloyd. I'll see you back in the barracks, all right?"

Ness nodded. He took a deep breath, hearing Ana's footsteps behind him. All alone. Another chance to prove that he didn't need anyone to accomplish what he wanted to. Gritting his teeth, Ness walked into the prison camp.

The stench of feces washed over Ness. He gagged, unable to keep prior memories of this prison from popping up. His eyes swept around the metal cages that didn't even give the prisoners enough room to stand up. Ness could see the "prison" part, but where was the "camp?" This looked like an unsanitary animal lab, not a dwelling for other human beings.

Memories upon memories flashed behind Ness' eyes, memories of these prisoners from the first time he came here. Memories of pain, memories of suffering, memories of feral snarls and haggard looks.

This was worse.

Instead of looking angry or defeated, the prisoners looked starved. Ness gasped, looking at their bony frames. How could someone survive with so little muscle? The prisoners looked at Ness with desperate eyes, begging him for something, _anything._

 _"You killed us!"_

Ness closed his eyes. For a second, he was back in front of the astroport on Vulcan, giving his zombified soldiers life with PK Rockin as they hacked Carpainter's cultists to pieces.

"No," Ness whispered. "This isn't the same. I can't help these people without Monotoli finding and kicking me out. I'm not killing them…"

 _"You killed us!"_

Ness squeezed his eyes shut. He ran down the halls, sounds of haunted laughter filling his ears. He opened his eyes right before slamming into a wall and pivoted to face a staircase. He ran up, covering two stairs with each step. By the time that he reached the top, sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Well, look who it is. Tell me, are the poor fellows downstairs still alive?"

Ness let out a yelp, looking straight at the psionic prisoner Frederick. The psion looked the exact same as before, with clasps attached to all of his limbs so that he couldn't use PSI. Unlike the prisoners downstairs, he still had all of his meat on his bones.

"Hmm?" Frederick asked. "What are you staring at? Don't pretend that you haven't seen me before. Wait, are you Ninten?"

"N-No," Ness managed, clearing a lump in his throat. "It's Ness. I'm just surprised that you don't look almost dead like the prisoners below."

"Ah, so they're still alive," Frederick said. "A pity. They deserve an end to this." He wrinkled his nose. "It really stinks up here. It must stink even more down there, and this is compared to the rest of Vulcan."

"An end to this?" Ness asked. "You mean…"

"Death? Yeah. It's not like Monotoli is going to free us."

 _That's a terrible thing to say!_ Ness wanted to shout. _Everyone deserves to live!_

"Well, couldn't they kill themselves if they wanted to?" Ness asked.

"They could," Frederick said, "But there's a dirty little secret about the way that evolution created us. We don't really want to let ourselves die, even when it would be a mercy. Well, usually. Suicide does exist, but that's mostly an attempt to exert power, since suicide victims usually feel like everything is beyond their control."

Ness took a step back, holding his hands in front of his chest.

"Cynical, I know," Frederick said. "But it's true. Why do you think that I'm still healthy? My body can run off of psionic energy. With the small amount of food that they're giving me, I can probably stay in this state for months. I could refuse to drink or nourish my body with psionics and die of thirst in a couple of days, but I know that I'll never do that. My body's too psyching stubborn to know when to quit."

"Why are we doing this?" Ness asked. "We're supposed to be _helping!_ "

"The universe's golden age is over," Frederick said. "People no longer remember how much pain the empire caused. Do you really think that Minerva Carpainter is different from the Mad Emperor George Lorune? You know, the one who stabbed his wife Mary with Dynaldas?"

"I…" Ness trailed off. "I don't know. But I have something to talk about with you. Have you seen Lloyd? He left a few weeks ago and I haven't seen him."

"Lloyd?" Frederic asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "No. I think I would have remembered another visit from him."

"I guess he must be somewhere else, then," Ness said with a sigh.

Frederick studied Ness for a few seconds.

"You think in the back of your mind that he's dead?" Frederick asked.

"I never said that!" Ness exclaimed. "Did you read my mind?"

"No. It's not hard to tell. Why would you think that he's dead?"

"He left me a note," Ness whispered. "Like we would never see each other again."

"That doesn't mean that he's dead."

"I know!" Ness snapped. "I just… I…"

"I get it," Frederick said, averting his gaze. "We all worry about silly things. It's what makes us human. I'm still worried about Morgan, even though she's in a better situation than I am right now."

Nobody spoke for minutes. Ness' eyes teared up. His anger at showing sign of weakness made even more tears roll down his cheeks.

"You actually care, huh?" Frederick asked.

Ness bit his lip, his eyes forming up with more tears.

"No need to feel ashamed of crying," Frederick said. "Tears are practical. Most people who deny them do so out of fear or vanity."

"Why?" Ness croaked. "Why is everything going wrong?"

"Dunno," Frederick said. "Your sorrow is quite compelling, though. Hmm… You might be just the person who I need, actually."

"For what?"

"Tell me, are you Ceresians going around trying to work with Vulcanese towns and finding a lot of resistance?"

Ness gritted his teeth and hugged his arms. Even now, he could still hear the sound of bones crunching and innocents screaming when Monotoli ordered the ectoplasmic warriors to attack the civilians back in Raven's village.

"You experienced that personally, huh?" Frederick asked.

Ness nodded, finding himself unable to speak.

"Well, I have a man who can help you connect to the Vulcanese," Frederick said. "They _love_ this guy. His name's Gerardo Montague, and he lives in the mines beneath a small town." Frederick paused. "You know, we should really name our towns. If I could just tell you the name, you could ask someone else how to get there. Head three leagues east and two leagues north and you should arrive there."

Ness nodded again. He could remember that.

"Just tell him that I sent you and that Ceres needs help with connecting to Vulcan. He'll do wonders for you. I can tell by your expression that you want to get out of this place as quickly as possible. I won't keep you here with my bitter talk if you want to leave. Thanks for your time, though. I know that you didn't come to help me, but I still appreciate meeting another human every once in a while. At least I know that I'm not going insane yet."

Ness cringed at Frederick's matter-of-fact attitude. How could Monotoli possibly condemn prisoners to this?

"I…" Ness croaked. "I need go to now. Goodbye."

He turned around and bolted down the stairs.

 _Run, run away,_ A voice in the back of Ness' head said. _Put as much distance as you can between you and this place. What does it matter? Even if you tell yourself not to think about it, these prisoners are still suffering. They're suffering and you're leaving them to die…_

Ness did his best to ignore that voice as he ran out of the prison.

* * *

"Ana!" Ness shouted, running into the barracks. He looked back and forth between the stone walls, finding nothing but emptiness.

"Yeah?" Ana said, popping out of a room. "Wow, did you see a ghost or something? Your face is really pale."

 _I saw a whole floor of soon-to-be ghosts,_ Ness thought.

"I'm fine," Ness said.

"Are you sure?" Ana asked. "I'm sorry that I left you back there. I wanted to call you once you got in, but Monotoli already planned for that."

"No, this isn't your fault," Ness said. "I just… Saw some stuff that I want to forget."

"You can," Ana said. "If you want, I can show you how to forget through autohypnosis."

Ness stared at Ana. Could it really be that easy?

"Do _you_ ever forget unpleasant memories?" Ness asked.

But no, that question didn't apply to her. Ana was perfect and could deal with her problems without running away. Nothing haunted her because she never left tasks unfinished.

"No," Ana said, her sad voice catching Ness of guard. "No, I don't. Even when it gets so bad that I can't take it anymore, I won't let myself forget. I guess I'm just scared of losing what makes me who I am, even if who I am is a brat."

Looking into Ana's eyes, Ness saw the same pain that Diana Carpainter displayed two years ago. Ana's shoulders slouched over and she regarded Ness with a hollow expression, similar to the prisoners back in the camp. But behind that defeated exterior, Ness saw a grim determination that lay underneath. Ana's shoulders slouched, but not completely. Her eyes were hollow, but they still contained a little fire.

Just like Diana Carpainter, Ana was beaten but not broken.

"I… see," Ness said. "I know that you hurt more than you let on, Ana. But you keep trudging on. I want to be more like you, so I figure that's a good place to start. What I saw hurt me, but at least the pain is _mine._ I can't just forget it."

"You can take all of that pain?" Ana asked.

"I made it this far, didn't I?" Ness asked with a grin. "I'm a little slow to recover, but I'll get there eventually. For some reason, I just can't feel depressed around you."

"Weirdo," Ana said, although she still carried a heaviness in her movements as she squeezed Ness' hand. "Of all of the people who you could fall in love with, why did it have to be me? I've proven again and again that I can't keep you safe."

"Come on," Ness said. "I never expected you to protect me from _everything._ In fact, I probably need it less than someone like Lloyd. There's still no sign of him."

"Oh," Ana said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me," Ness said. "I'm not the one who went missing."

"You know, I could never picture you saying something so mature just a few months ago," Ana said, cocking her head in thought. "You're growing up on me!"

"It happens to everyone," Ness said teasingly, "It just happened to me later. And I still have a lot of growing to do. Speaking of which, someone I talked to in the prison pointed me in a direction for helping out our relations with the Vulcanese."

"Really?" Ana asked. "What did he say?"

"He told me to go to a village three leagues east and two leagues north. Apparently, a man named Gerardo Montague will be able to help us out."

"Are you sure that he's not leading you into a trap?" Ana asked.

"Uh…" Ness fumbled for a response.

"You didn't even _think_ about that possibility?"

"Err… No, not really."

"Well," Ana said. "Even if it is a trap, I'll keep you safe. I won't fail this time, I promise."

"So you're in this with me?"

"Since when were _you_ the adventurous one?" Ana asked. "Yeah, I know where that village is. I went there on a recon mission a couple weeks back with Captain Strong and Ben Minch while you were…" Ana coughed.

"While I was out of it?" Ness asked. "You can say it, Ana."

Ana shot Ness a thankful smile.

"Yeah, then," she said. "I can teleport there right now, since we don't have any orders. I don't think that we would be breaking any rules."

"Well, even if we are breaking rules, what are they going to do?" Ness asked. "Discharge us? We're going home in three days anyway!"

"A compelling argument," Ana said. "I wonder where you got that from. You ready to head out right now?"

"Yeah," Ness said, taking a deep breath. "After spending three weeks bawling in my room, I have some catch-up to do."

"Teleport," Ana said, grabbing onto Ness' arm.

The grey of the barracks faded into the grey landscape of Vulcan. After a few seconds, Ness found himself standing right in front of the village that Frederick talked about. It didn't look so different from Raven's… Ness heard bones crunching in his mind and fought down the urge to barf.

"Was Raven okay?" Ness asked. "After what happened to her village?"

"This reminds you of that, doesn't it?" Ana asked, looking out at the array of stone houses in front of them. "I know that this is really hard for you, Ness. Remember, I'm always here for you if you ever need support."

Okay, ten seconds into a self-assigned mission and Ana was already making him feel better. What did Ness do to deserve someone like her?

"So, Raven?" he asked.

"She's fine," Ana said. "Captain Strong isn't evil enough to go slaughtering Vulcanese in their houses. He just stuck to killing those protesting the Ceresian occupation."

Ness sighed. Finally, a piece of good news to lighten his mood. Maybe today would just get better.

"Wait," Ana said, sniffing the air. "Do you smell that?"

Now that she mentioned it, Ness could smell… _something._ He didn't know quite how to describe it, but it sure didn't smell good. Ness heard a _whoosh_ from behind him and snapped his head around. Just the wind playing tricks on his mind.

"It almost smells like…" Ana's eyes widened as she turned to look at Ness. "Corpses."

Ana took off in a sprint towards the town. Ness followed her in, panting as he tried to keep up. He walked through streets made of dirt, trying to keep the distance between him and Ana at a minimum.

It wasn't long before he started to find the bodies.

They lay in open sight; the murderer clearly felt no interest in covering up his work. Upon walking up to the nearest corpse, Ness knelt down and inspected the killing blow: a stab wound through chest. Others lay decapitated or sliced in half with remarkably clean cuts. Ness barely got his face mask off before he retched. At least the acid in his throat gave him something to focus on besides the desolation in front of him.

As Ness and Ana walked into a different part of town, the scene didn't change. Rows upon rows of corpses lay on the ground, all of them bearing the same slash or stab markings.

"Did one person do _all_ of this?" Ana asked. "These are civilians! Why would anyone do this? There's literally no reason. They weren't hurting anyone…"

 _I wonder if Frederick knew about this,_ Ness thought, _And he wanted to prove a point._

Ness looked back at the corpses.

 _No. These people died recently. They would have started decomposing by now if they died before the empirists attacked us._

"Just why?" Ana asked. "Why? I don't understand. At least Captain Strong had a _reason_ for attacking civilians. At least Minerva Carpainter had a _reason_ for blowing up Aphrodite."

"Wait," Ness said. "President Carpainter did WHAT?"

"Man, oh man," Ness heard from behind him. "This is quite a scene, isn't it?"

Ness whirled around, spotting Frank Fly in his iconic red suit, twirling knives in either hand.

"You!" Ana bellowed. "Why did you do this?"

"Me?" Frank Fly asked. "Why would I kill innocents? I fight for the glory of Giygas, our savior. He does not approve of this villainy. I thought that you killed all of these helpless people."

"LIAR!" Ana shouted, firing an orb of energy that exploded and engulfed Frank's entire body. Naturally, Frank came out no worse for the wear due to his psionic aura. "I _know_ that you did it! You can't hide the truth from me!"

"Oh, little girl," Frank said with a chuckle. "You deceive yourself. Join me. Join Giygas. He can show you the way forward."

An ectoplasmic axe appeared in Ana's hands. She charged at Frank, using another explosion to cover for her advance. Frank darted past Ana, moving his hands and whispering something under his breath. Immediately, Ness felt something pushing on his mind, giving him a headache. His vision went blurry as he struggled to stay on his feet. Ness made out a red form barreling towards him, which could only be Frank Fly.

"PK Rockin!" Ness shouted.

He heard Frank shout in surprise. After a second, his headache faded and his vision returned in full force. Frank laughed as he staggered backward from the force of the psionic attack.

"So your boyfriend bites, does he?" Frank asked Ana. "PK Rockin. Nasty little move. Those Osohe stole it from Master Giygas. I guess if I can't take him captive to use against you…"

Ana charged forward. Frank tried to dart out of the way, but Ana's axe bit into his side, drawing blood.

"Not bad, sweetheart," Frank said. "If I had known that I would face a pair of mass murderers, I would have brought backup. Tele-"

Right as Frank started moving his hands to manifest teleport, a giant wolf darted out from behind the building and tackled Frank, pinning him to the ground. Ness blinked. A _wolf_ coming out of nowhere and knowing exactly how to disable Frank's PSI? And On Vulcan, where wolves couldn't be found in the wild? Just what was going on?

"N-No," Frank said, his eyes wide and his expression frantic. "No! I will not die today. Master Giygas, lend me your strength!"

The wolf's jaw clamped down on Frank. After a few bites, the cultist started bleeding, indicating that his psionic aura was almost out of power. After a few more bites, Ness couldn't even recognize Frank's face anymore.

The wolf backed away from Frank Fly's dead body, cocking its head as it looked at Ness and Ana.

"W-What is that?" Ness asked, taking a step back. "Is that really a wolf?"

"A psion in a different form," Ana said, her eyes narrowing. "The more powerful psions can change their shape at will. Thank you for helping us kill Frank Fly, whoever you are. Would you mind showing us your true form?"

The wolf stood on its hind legs and shrunk, turning back into a human in a matter of seconds. This new person was a man of about 30 years with long, brown hair and messy clothing that made him look like a rugged warrior. A scar on his left cheek only added to the effect. He carried a spear in one hand and a wooden shield in the other, both of which looked rather unremarkable. However, he made up for his simple looks by standing confidently enough to make Ness take another step back.

"Greetings," the man said, his rough voice sending a shiver down Ness' spine. "The name's Mars. I'm not as mean as I look, so don't be scared to come closer."

Ness took a few steps forward, shuffling his feet. Mars smirked.

"Um…" Ness said. "Thank you for helping us with Frank."

"It's my duty to help the world by removing cancer like him," Mars replied. "…That's what I want to say, but the truth is that I just can't stand him. I can't think of a single sane person who won't be glad that he's gone."

"Excuse me," Ana said, her tone reserved yet hostile. "Do you know who caused this?" She gestured towards the corpses scattered around the area.

"Ah, you think I killed them," Mars said. "I didn't. You'll just have to trust me on that one. Why would I want all of the people in this town dead? It makes no sense. I don't think that it was Frank, either. He was vicious, but he liked to leave at least _some_ people alive."

 _Wait,_ Ness thought. _The murderer killed everyone in the entire town? But… Why?_

Ness felt his heart weigh in his chest like a brick. He could empathize with Ana's earlier exclamations. So much unnecessary suffering. What was the point?

"Well, someone obviously did it," Ana said. "And there don't seem to be any other people around."

"Wrong," Mars said. "I sense three psions in this town, but none of them killed these people. I know the person who did. Minerva sent me to hunt him down."

"Minerva as in the president?" Ness asked. _You know, the one who apparently destroyed Aphrodite?_

"You two don't seem to be her biggest fans," Mars noted. "That's okay. I don't like her either. But you saw what the murderer that I'm after will do. I have to stop him, even if taking him in a head-on fight is basically suicide. But I can spare a little time to check out the three psions over there if you want."

"We can check on them without you," Ana said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Three psions," Mars said. "You don't know if they're friend or foe. One of them is stronger than you, Miss Aniah. The other two are stronger than Ness. Do the math. If they attack you, it spells bad news in all capitals."

"You know me?" Ana asked. "And Ness?"

"Telepathy," Mars said. "You really should shield your thoughts, you know."

Ana growled like a caged animal.

"Ana," Ness said. "He does have a point. He helped us beat Frank, so I think that we can trust him. Let's check out the other psions."

"If they're even there," Ana muttered.

"Try sensing them yourself," Mars said. "You can probably pick up the one who's not shielding his thoughts."

Ana closed her eyes, after a second, she glared at Mars.

"He's probably right," Ana said. "I sense a psionic spike nearby. That doesn't mean that a psion is over there, though. Enchanted items, psionic crystals… It could still be a trap."

"If I wanted to capture you, I'd pounce on you right now," Mars said. "You couldn't react quickly enough to teleport and I know that Ness can't."

"…Fine," Ana said. "Let's go talk to these psions that you sense. I hope that you're not opposed to leading the way?"

"Of course," Mars said, stepping in front of Ana. "Let's move quickly so that I can get back to chasing our mass murderer."

Ness took one last look at the corpse-filled streets around him before following Mars and Ana towards the source of the psionic spike. The numb feeling in his gut made him wonder just how many hopes and dreams died on the day that the mass murderer attacked.


	13. Chapter 12: A Common Enemy

**Hello! :) It's me again with another update. It will be pretty weird to only update one story every week now... but I guess I'll get used to it. xD So, how's everyone's Friday? Well... I'm actually typing this up on Thursday since I'll be out for most of Friday, so I'm not quite feeling it yet.**

 **Be forewarned: this chapter is mostly talking. I still managed to drag it out to 5.5k words though. Don't ask me how. It's Ninten's POV, so make what you will of that fact. I also think that this is one of my worst chapters of the story; I couldn't find good ways to cut out all of the boring/confusing parts. Hopefully, none of you fall asleep on me. ;)**

 **Also, Spring Break is next week for me! :D I even get the following Monday off for some sort of teacher work day thing. Hopefully, I'll get a lot of writing done, but I think that my family has a bunch of plans (which is surprising, considering that we hate leaving the house for any reason except for food).**

 **Maybe it's just me, but have most of the other long fanfic writers disappeared from the Earthbound Fandom? It feels like it's just me and Fox haha (come on Phoesong and crabbyTomato ;D). Who will last longer?**

 **...Probably her. After I finish with Ceres, I don't have any plans to continue writing fanfiction. :( As much as I would love to do this, I feel like there's only so much I can learn from writing in such a casual environment. Don't get me wrong; I love this site and the EB fandom, but I want to take my writing one step further. I need to give fanfic writers more representation in the novel world than the person who wrote 50 Shades of Grey.**

 **Besides, this story is 10% fan and 90% fiction anyway. :)**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Yeah, Ninten saw corpses. Now we get to see his reaction to them. Yeah, I think that _might_ be it for the Greek/Roman mythology references, but I can't promise anything. ;) Yeah, Ninten's upbringing didn't help, but generally problems with poor parenting affect people far earlier than Ninten changed (remember, he was pretty happy-go-lucky in Ana's interlude). There's actually a specific event that changed him, but I don't know if I even want to mention it because it's kind of irrelevant. So far, Ness has no ties to the Osohe. _So far..._ :) Yeah, I tried to portray Ness as fragile but not necessarily weak... almost innocent, but he _has_ experienced a lot of dark stuff. Glad that I got that across. :) Yep, it does look like Jeff and Ninten are long-lost relatives. It would make them second cousins, I think? And your question about the protags reuniting will be answered this chapter! :D

 **PSIBoy:** Yep, Ninten's not going to die... at least for a while. ;) I won't make any promises about the supporting characters, though...

Right. Ana's used to being in charge, so the whole order of command in the military thing is kind of a struggle for her (not even in a bad way). The funny thing is that Monotoli actually became quite guilty in Earthbound when he realized that the Mani Mani statue was controlling him. It contrasts with my story's depiction of him. Maybe I should work that in... or maybe not. And to be fair, Monotoli was neither responsible for the death of Boras (Ninten's fault) or Aphrodite's destruction (Minerva's fault). Still, not a nice guy, huh?

Yep, gotta make Mars enter with a flare. Even if readers only remember him as "that one op dude who stole Ness' kill," it's good enough for me at this point. xD Oh yeah, the cast is giant, but... well, I'll just say that it's going to be reduced soon. Take that how you will. ;)

 **A Fan:** Note is the character talking. I mentioned that a while back, but it probably got buried under all of the other useless crap that I put in my ANs. Yeah, Ana's not super used to dealing with military protocol. Not as socially adept as Ness thinks, hmm? :) Slips like that are what keep her from seeming too Sueish (she's supposed to appear a _little_ like that, but not to the level where readers start to think that she's perfect).

Well, Gerardo and Monotoli are both canon characters. Monotoli was the mayor of Fourside (the dude who was controlled by the Mani Mani statue), and Gerardo was the one of the guys who mined the diamond and gave it to Ness so that he could pay off the Runaway Five's debt. Ring any bells? The only major OCs in this arc are Morgan and now Mars. And it was Morgan who put Ninten in the cave. They talk a lot about it this chapter. Hopefully you'll remember when you read it. :)

Well, in Mars' defense, he didn't really pass through Frank's aura so much as bite enough times to take it out (which is why it took multiple bites to begin with). And most decently powerful psions can sense auras like that, even with his specificity. I mean, Ana picked up on two out of the three. And yeah, he's supposed to seem like the OP wild card character who the protags feel like they have to work with but don't really trust. Most books have that kind of character. I guess I'll just say it... yeah, the murderer is the savant who Claus is interested in. And believe it or not, Ness' reaction to wolf Mars killing Frank Fly was actually pretty normal. As humans, fear overrides most other logic and emotions for pretty obvious reasons (gotta run from those lions without having to analyze them). So determining if this weird wolf thing is an actual threat that Ness should run away from takes up most of his mental capacity. Reacting to the gore just isn't important if the wolf is about to turn on him.

* * *

 _I think that insanity is meant to protect. When the pain threatens to destroy us, we revert to a state where we don't understand it and therefore stop feeling it. To be honest, insanity sounds restful to me. It all plays into the idea of blissful ignorance._

 _But I need to help Morgan through this. She lost so much when those bombs tore Aphrodite apart. But while I wouldn't say that she's operating at her full potential, she can eat, sleep, talk, and use psionics. Between the guilt and rage that she feels, I'm astounded that she can even manage that. She was always the stronger sibling of the two of us. She is not a lost cause._

 _So I need to stay sane, but I don't know if I can take the pain. The solution that I came up with is simple: dump the insanity onto my other half. I turned back into my original form recently and started raving like the madman that I am. If I can let Pan Lorune be insane, maybe Dr. Andonuts can keep trudging forward._

* * *

Corpses. Ninten smelled corpses. His eyes shot open, the light forcing him to squint. Even before his pupils shrunk so that he could see clearly, Ninten spotted bodies lying on the ground. He looked around once his eyes adjusted the light. He spotted blood, corpses, and silent houses of stone. He supposed that he should have felt horror or shame or _something…_ but a sense of numbness gripped his heart with such intensity that Ninten almost toppled over from shock alone.

He walked up to a lifeless body, noting a surprisingly clean slash across the person's back as if reading numbers on a chart. Numbers might display horrible or gruesome actions, but nobody feared the numbers themselves. Ninten looked around, finding all of the same sword markings on the nearby corpses. Ninten frowned. The deceased villagers were obviously civilians. Why would anyone want to wipe them out? He rubbed his temples. Nothing about this made sense.

Maybe that was what irked him so much.

"Divine Rulers!" Ninten heard Gerardo Montague say. "What kind of monster would do this?"

Ninten spotted the miner kneeling over one of the corpses. The tears running down Gerardo's face told Ninten more than he needed to know about his ties with the village.

"I knew these people," Gerardo whispered. "I _knew_ these people. And now… now…" he sobbed. "They're never coming back, are they? But why? These people never hurt anybody. Who would want them dead?"

Who _would_ want them dead? Ninten racked his brains and couldn't come up with an answer. As much as he wanted to pin this on the empirists, it didn't make sense for them to murder everyone in a village with swords rather than psionics.

"Gerardo," Ninten said, walking up to the miner. "Do you know of any reason why someone might want to attack this village? Money? Artifacts? Secrets?"

"No," Gerardo said, his hands trembling. "And even if this town did have any of those, it wouldn't make sense to kill everyone and leave their bodies out for everyone to see."

"I don't get it either," Ninten whispered. "Who would possibly want to do this?"

"I can answer that question," came a voice behind Ninten.

Ninten whirled around to come face to face with Morgan. She held Ninten's jeweled knife Dynaldas in her right hand and wore what looked like a cross between a smirk and a sneer. A second later, Dr. Andonuts appeared right next to her, clothed in his iconic white lab coat.

"Who are you?" Gerardo asked, standing up and balling his hands into fists.

"These are the people who took my other friend away," Ninten said. "Call weapon."

An ectoplasmic sword appeared in Ninten's hand. He gripped it so tightly that his knuckles turned white, holding the sword up to protect his body.

"Do you think that your little toy will do you any good against me?" Morgan asked. "You're pathetic. You've _always_ been pathetic. I bet killing a defenseless old man wasn't even the start, hmm?"

"I wouldn't call Boras defenseless," Ninten said, "And I do regret killing him."

"Your regret doesn't _matter,_ " Morgan hissed. "He's dead either way!"

"I'm sorry."

"Saying that you're sorry doesn't change anything! One of the things that I learned over the years is that intentions don't matter in the slightest. Only the end result affects people. Only the consequences of an action matter."

"Boras tried to create a better universe," Ninten said. "He failed. He didn't save Vulcan. Does that make him less of a good person?"

"Don't you dare speak my father's name!" Morgan shouted. "He's dead because of _you._ "

 _That's exactly what I'm trying to say,_ Ninten thought. _Me being an asshole and killing him before he could finish his plan doesn't make him any less of a good person._

"Ninten," Gerardo said. "Did you really kill someone like that?"

"Yes," Ninten said. "Yes, I did. He still haunts me in my dreams. I guess I deserve it."

"Man," Gerardo said, shaking his head. "The things that people hide under a friendly face…"

"At least I'm sorry," Ninten repeated. Why did everyone have to gang up on him like this?

"Your apology doesn't mean a _psych,_ " Morgan said, sparks flying from her fingers. "You're just using it as an excuse for not taking responsibility!"

"Morgan," Dr. Andonuts said, his voice uncharacteristically sober. "Remember what we came here for."

"Right," Morgan said, swallowing and nodding her head. Turning back to Ninten, "How was your little trip through the caves?"

"I almost died," Ninten said, putting on a false smile. "So naturally, I _loved_ it."

"Looks like I corrupted another one with my humor," Dr. Andonuts said, winking at Ninten.

 _Hmph,_ Ninten thought. _Getting an endorsement from that guy ruins the fun of it._

"Cute, both of you," Morgan said. "You were supposed to struggle. You can't grow if nothing challenges you. Have you ever heard of a Greek philosopher named Plato?"

"Yeah," Ninten said.

"Nope," Dr. Andonuts said.

"Wait, what?" Ninten asked, turning towards Dr. Andonuts. "How did you get a PHD without learning about Plato?"

"Isn't there a planet named that or something?" Dr. Andonuts asked, scratching his head.

"That's a dwarf planet called Pluto," Ninten said. "Based off of the Roman god. Are you serious?"

"I know Pluto," Dr. Andonuts said with a grin. "This Greek philosopher is new to me, though."

"Ahem," Morgan said. Ninten and Dr. Andonuts turned back to face her. "As I was _saying,_ Plato formulated an idea called the Allegory of the Cave. Basically, it states that we're stuck in this proverbial cave of ignorance when we're born, and the 'reality' that we see is made up of shadows dancing on the cave walls. We have to escape the cave and face the blinding truth outside, even though it hurts to do so."

"That sounds interesting," Gerardo said, although Ninten suspected that he just wanted to keep Morgan talking.

"Once we reach the light and gaze into the sun, we are enlightened. However, someone who starts out in the light doesn't know the struggle of the people in the cave. Basically, someone who didn't have to struggle for their status cannot empathize with the common people."

"So you interpreted that literally," Ninten said. "You saw me as someone who only ever knew the comfort and the light. Then you stuck me in the cave and watched me struggle to claw my way out, hoping that I would find a better connection with the Vulcanese miners."

"Exactly!" Morgan said, looking genuinely happy. "Even though I hate you for killing my father, I could see the potential within you. I knew that if you could just see the world from our perspective, then you would work together with us to better the universe."

Ninten's heart pounded in his chest. He shot a quick glance at Dr. Andonuts, who regarded Ninten like how Jeff would look at a math problem, trying to fit together all of the bits and pieces to create an answer. That scared him far more than Morgan's shouts and glares.

"I can actually appreciate the experience now," Ninten said. "I thought that I knew true desperation before, but nothing can compare to what I saw down in those mines. Claus actually helped a lot with that. When we encountered the Ares division, I genuinely thought that I would have to mine psionic crystals just like anyone else. That shouldn't have hit me as hard as it did. The idea of losing my future and everything that I love suddenly seemed like a real possibility. I think that I needed to see that."

Morgan nodded, her eyes shining with approval.

"Additionally, I always wondered why the miners didn't do anything to help themselves. In the stories, a hero always pops up, defying the odds and saving his people. I assumed that someone like that would appear. I know better now. When I spent those weeks wandering the mines alone, everything that ever meant anything to me started to lose its meaning. My friends, my future, my duty… None of it mattered anymore. I only cared about surviving for another day. The miners are in a state where their own stresses leave them psychologically incapable of rebelling or developing morals. We're such fragile people, aren't we? I thought that even if the universe killed me, it couldn't take away what makes me who I am. I see now how easy it is to break us."

Morgan beamed, clasping her hands together in excitement.

"I'm so glad that you can see the truth!" she exclaimed. "Finally, somebody gets it!"

Ninten looked into Morgan's eager eyes. Divine Rulers, she really just wanted someone to agree with her. Even though he hated this woman, a part of him wanted to resist what he was about to say next.

"I now understand the situation that the miners are in much better," he whispered. "But…"

"But what?" Morgan asked, the smile dropping off of her face in an instant.

Ninten took a deep breath.

"But I can't join you. I can't join the empirists."

Morgan took a step towards Ninten, her rage poorly concealed by a doll-like smile.

"Excuse me?" she asked. "What did you just say?"

"I can't join you," Ninten repeated, standing up straight. "I can see why you hate the system that abuses the Vulcanese, but putting an emperor in charge of the universe isn't the right answer."

"You little brat," Morgan said, her voice devoid of emotion. "You really didn't learn anything, did you? Everything that you said before was a lie."

"Just because I came to a different conclusion doesn't mean that I didn't learn," Ninten said.

"Minerva _destroyed_ Aphrodite!" Morgan shouted. "She nuked it until a nuclear winter killed off the few people who survived! You're supporting a woman who committed genocide!"

Ninten's jaw dropped, although his face mask probably hid some of his shock.

"I don't support Carpainter," Ninten said, "But that doesn't mean that I want an emperor in charge of the universe. Besides, who would you choose? You? _Me?_ Neither of us know jack shit about politics."

"I know more than you think," Morgan said, her eyes narrowing. "I guess I should have expected this. I go to all of this work to try and teach you something, and look what happens. You don't learn. You'll never learn. I guess there's only one choice left."

"You're going to kill me for having a different opinion from you? And you wonder why we Ceresians call you the villain!"

"Morgan," Dr. Andonuts said. "Remember what we talked about."

"I'm not going to kill him!" Morgan shouted. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I promised that I wouldn't kill you, Ninten. But that doesn't mean that I can't lock you up and wait for you to rot away!"

"Morgan!" Dr. Andonuts said. "Get a hold of yourself! He's allowed to think differently than we do. Part of creating a better society involves open discussions. If we lock away anyone who disagrees with us, how are we any better than Minerva?"

"Minerva destroyed a _planet!_ " Morgan shouted. "150 million people dead! Nothing that anyone has ever done even comes close to that number. Minerva's worse than Nero, worse than Elias, worse than Durand. There is no way that we will ever be as bad as her!"

"Can't you cut Minerva a little bit of slack?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "She was trying to save the universe. What she did was still wrong, but-"

"But you want me to _forgive_ her?" Morgan asked. "Maybe the 150 million people on Aphrodite would forgive her IF THEY WERE PSYCHING ALIVE!"

"So Carpainter really did destroy Aphrodite?" Gerardo Montague asked. "It wasn't the starmen?"

"Right," Dr. Andonuts said. "The starmen had no motive to destroy a planet… And they lack the resources. Morgan witnessed Minerva pulling the trigger to destroy Aphrodite firsthand."

"I can't believe that I let her escape from that alive," Morgan hissed. "The bitch deserves to die. No, she deserves something far worse. I only wish that the Christian God is real so that Minerva will burn in hell for all eternity."

"But wanting Minerva dead doesn't necessarily mean wanting an emperor in charge," Dr. Andonuts said. "We both agree that an emperor would help the universe more than an elected leader, but it's okay that Ninten disagrees."

"It's not _okay,_ " Morgan said. "He doesn't understand, Pan! He doesn't know how hopeless these people are under a capitalistic system."

"I just explained that I do understand," Ninten said. "Just because I'm a Ceresian and I don't agree with your plan of action doesn't make me a racist."

"Not even a Ceresian, too," Dr. Andonuts said. "Did you forget that you came from Earth?"

Oh right. Earth. Why had Ninten assumed that he represented Ceres?

"I can't believe you," Morgan said, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Ninten. "How dare you claim that you understand when you clearly have no idea how we feel? How dare you go against what Boras tried to teach you, even after you _killed_ him!"

"He told me to learn from killing him," Ninten said. "I think that I finally understand what he meant. I killed him because I was too scared of showing him kindness. I thought that he would take advantage of it."

"You little monster," Morgan hissed. "How dare you talk about him like that after you murder him?"

"Because," Ninten said. "I'm trying to learn from that. Boras wanted to unite the universe in love rather than hate. And here you are, yelling at me to join you. Do you see why I might be a little skeptical? You're not the same as your father, Morgan. You have to learn kindness, same as me."

Morgan's face flushed with rage. Shards of ice fell from the sky, cutting Ninten's skin and chilling him to the bone.

"Morgan!" Dr. Andonuts shouted. "Stop attacking him! You promised not to kill him."

"Oh, I won't _kill_ him," Morgan said, cackling as she drew her arms across her chest. "I'm just going to beat a little sense into him, that's all. Since your parents never taught you manners, Ninten, you're father's cousin is going to do it for them!"

Ninten raised his sword, pointing it at Morgan.

"What?" Morgan asked, sparks flying from her hands. "You don't have anything to say to that?"

"I won't waste my breath," Ninten said.

"Psions coming," Dr. Andonuts said. "Three of them, one with an expertly crafted mind shield."

Morgan lowered her arms, looking to the side. Now that Dr. Andonuts mentioned it, Ninten could detect two psionic auras from the direction that Morgan was looking at. The mind shield must have masked the third one.

"Ah," Dr. Andonuts said. "That mind shield… My oh my, this will be interesting."

Right then, a rugged-looking man who Ninten didn't recognize walked into view, alongside… a boy and a girl.

"Ann!" Ninten shouted. "Ness! Is that really you?"

Yes. It had to be. Ana and Ness would remember Ninten, right? Even in his filthy clothing from the mines, they _had_ to recognize him. In that moment, he feared that everything that happened before the mines was a lie, that he was just some Vulcanese worker who nobody would ever care about.

Even though it didn't make sense, he feared.

"Please," Ninten whispered. His eyes started tearing up. "Ann, please."

Ana's eyes darted towards Ninten. For a second, she looked at him in confusion. Ninten's heart skipped a beat.

 _Please…_

The next second, Ana's eyes widened in shock.

"Ninten!" she shouted. "Your voice is so hoarse! I didn't even-"

"What the _psych_ are you doing here?" Morgan asked, taking a step towards Ana's group. "Get out or I'll blast you to pieces!"

The rugged man who Ninten didn't recognize bellowed a laugh.

"Do you really want to fight me, Lorune? It's been a while since I've tasted battle."

"I'll fight you-"

"Morgan!" Dr. Andonuts said. "Four psions, one of them far stronger than you. Do the math."

Morgan inhaled sharply, closing her eyes. After opening them, she glared at Ninten, as if this were all _his_ fault.

"I'm coming for you later," she hissed. "Trust me, nothing in the universe will stop me from beating the truth into you. Teleport!"

Ninten breathed a sigh of relief as Morgan faded away. He looked at Dr. Andonuts, who regarded the rugged man with a smirk.

"What's your name?" Dr. Andonuts asked the mystery man.

"Mars."

"Mars, eh? Well, the spear and shield suit you. Nice scar, by the way."

"What are you getting at?" Mars asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. You know, just… complimenting the strategic placement of your physical features."

"I didn't choose where to get this scar."

"Ah. Well, that's too bad."

 _Um, what the psych is going on?_ Ninten thought. He shot a glance at Ana, who shrugged.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Dr. Andonuts said with a bow. "I must bid you adieu. Try not to get _too_ many of those kids killed, all right?"

The scientist pulled out a metal, two-pronged device. The device glowed for an instant and Dr. Andonuts disappeared. What had he meant my getting kids killed? Was he responsible for the deaths in the village? But Ana and Ness seemed to trust him…

"Well," Gerardo said. "I can safely say that I never expected that to happen to me. Is this normal for you?"

"Normal enough," Ninten muttered. "Including their overdrawn, anticlimactic exits. But if you don't mind, I'm going to head over to my friends right now."

Without waiting for a response, Ninten broke into a sprint across the village. The sweat trickling down his forehead and his lungs that screamed for breath didn't bother him in the slightest. After weeks away from anything relating to his past life, he couldn't bear to be away from his friends for another minute. He slowed to a halt right before he crashed into Mars, gasping for breath.

"Well," Mars said. "Someone's enthusiastic. Guess I can't blame you. I'll let you three catch up, all right? I'm going to search the village for more clues."

"All right," Ana said. "Don't get lost or anything!"

Mars chuckled.

"In this village? I'd more likely get lost in my own house."

As Mars walked off, Ninten embraced Ana in a hug. He closed his eyes, feeling her heart beat against his. How long had it been since he had made contact with the world outside of the mines? After a few seconds, he forced himself to let go of her.

"Sorry about that," Ninten said, dusting himself off. "I guess I'm all dirty and smelly, huh? They don't really take baths down in those mines."

"It's fine!" Ana said, wearing one of her heartwarming smiles. "It's just that…" Ana trailed off, looking at Ness.

 _Oh, psych._

"Are you two still…?"

"Courting?" Ness asked, a slight smile forming on his face. "Yeah."

Ninten looked back and forth between Ana and Ness, feeling his cheeks grow hot.

"So I just… hugged your girlfriend?"

"You could say that," Ana replied, struggling to keep a straight face.

"Divine Rulers!" Ninten exclaimed. "I'm sorry to both of you. I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's fine, Ninten," Ness said, his smile growing ever so slightly.

"No, really," Ninten said. "I totally psyched up. I'm really sorry."

"Ninten," Ana said flatly. "You look like you're about to collapse from exhaustion. Nobody here is blaming you for anything."

"Besides," Ness said. "You're friends, right? It's normal to show that you care about each other in that way."

"It's _normal_ for me to go up and hug someone else's girlfriend?" Ninten asked.

"Well, maybe 'normal' isn't the right word," Ness said. "I guess I don't know what I'm trying to say. But I really don't mind, Ninten. I'm just glad that you're back."

"Only you two could make me feel better about something like this," Ninten said. "Seriously. What did I do to deserve you guys?"

"Oh, nothing in particular," Ana said with a mischievous smile. "So Ness, when should we tell _Paula_ about this?"

Ninten felt the blood drain from his face.

"I take it back. You suck, Ann."

"I do my best," Ana said, raising her chin in an attempt to look haughty. "But you _do_ care about her. That's sweet, Ninten."

"Why wouldn't he care about her?" Ness asked. "I mean, didn't he ask her out to the dance?"

Ana coughed, and Ninten didn't think that it was because of the polluted air.

"I actually kinda set up the whole thing," Ana said. "Ninten asked me out to the dance first. I set him up with Paula so that I could go with you."

"Well, that's some pretty impressive matchmaking," Ness said.

"Not really. Ninten was just completely oblivious to Paula's feelings about him."

Ninten sighed. Why did Ana always have to make fun of _him?_

"I'm just teasing," Ana said, smiling at Ninten. "But we probably shouldn't talk about our teenage drama, not when people here are actually suffering. We can't let _this_ happen again." Ana gestured towards the corpses around her. "Although, Ninten probably deserves to complain about his situation. What _did_ happen to you, anyways? And now that I think about it, where's Claus?"

Ninten gave a five-minute summary of what happened to him and Claus down in the caves, skipping over most of the parts where he was delirious. They didn't need to know just how close he came to dying. Instead of mentioning that he gave up on life and passed out, he said that Gerardo found him and took him in (technically true!).

"Gerardo Montague?" Ness asked. Turning to Ana, "Isn't that who we were looking for?"

"Yeah," Ana said, furrowing her eyebrows. "He wouldn't happen to be the man standing right behind Ninten, would he?"

"Sure am," Gerardo said, stepping up next to Ninten. "I wanted to give you kids a chance to catch up, but if want to talk to me, I'm all ears. Why did you decide to come looking for me?"

"A psion named Frederick pointed us in your direction," Ness said.

"Ah, Freddy!" Gerardo said, his face lighting up. "How's he doing?"

"Um…" Ness bit his lip.

"He's locked up in the Ceresian war camp," Ana said. "That's what Monotoli did with all of the empirist combatants."

"Oh," Gerardo said, his face turning downcast. "That's a real shame."

"Are _you_ an empirist?" Ninten asked.

"Me?" Gerardo relied. "Divine Rulers, no! An emperor would take away our freedom just like the companies did. Freddy was always a kind one, though. I'm going to miss him."

"You might not have to," Ana said. "Frederick told Ness that you could help us bridge the gap between Ceres and Vulcan. Even someone cruel like Monotoli has to see the benefits of that."

"So you want me to work with you?" Gerardo asked.

"Work with Monotoli," Ana corrected. "Ness and I aren't the ones using force to break up protests."

"I… see," Gerardo said, his expression unreadable. "I suppose that I could try. But you Ceresians picked one psych of a time to land here, you know that? We've been suffering for years and you were deaf to our cries, but now that we're bitter it's somehow your responsibility to keep us contained."

"Again, not really my decision," Ana said. "Minerva hunted down Boras because she knew that he could unite the people of Vulcan. That's the whole reason we came."

"Boras wanted to unite Vulcan in love!" Gerardo said, visibly pained. "What kind of monster would want him dead?"

Ninten shuffled his feet.

"It's sad," Ana said, "But the only thing that you can do now is try to help the remaining Vulcanese. I can teleport you over there right now, if you want. In fact, I should probably come along to advocate for you."

Gerardo mulled over that idea, exhaling a steady stream of air.

"All right," he said. "If Frederick said that I can help, he's probably right. That one is wise beyond his years."

"We might as well all head back, right?" Ninten asked. "Nothing more to see here."

 _Besides,_ he thought. _I want to ditch Mars as soon as I can. Just because he stood up to Morgan doesn't make him our friend._

"No," Ness whispered, his voice resolute. "We're not done here."

"Hmm?" Ninten asked. "What do you mean?"

"These corpses," Ness said. "We have to find out who did this."

"But we're heading back to Earth in a few days," Ana said. "I don't think that we can carry out a real investigation."

"Please," Ness said, clasping his hands together. "What if the person who did this slaughters another village? We have to stop that!"

"There's only so much that we can do," Ana said with an apologetic shrug. "Right now, I think that our best bet is telling the authorities about it."

"Wrong."

Ninten stiffened, recognizing the voice as belonging to Mars. What did that guy have to do with this?

"What do you mean?" Ana asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have a better plan?"

Mars stepped into Ninten's range of vision and smiled.

"Damn right, I do!" he said. "I'm a sniffer. I can track where the murderer went. I already figured out that he headed north from here."

"How can you tell?" Ninten asked. _How do we know that this isn't a trap?_ he implied.

"Trade secret," Mars said. "I'm going after the murder. Minerva's paying me to kill him, after all. The thing is, I tend to operate better solo. I'm kind of a lone wolf, you see."

"So you won't let me come with you?" Ness asked, his face crestfallen.

"Now, I didn't say that," Mars said. "You can come along if you want to. I make no guarantees that you'll come back alive, though. Killing the murderer will be my top priority, not taking care of you."

"I'll come," Ness said without hesitation.

"Ness!" Ana exclaimed. "Are you sure? I know that you want to be brave, but-"

"This isn't bravery," Ness whispered. "I'm doing it because I already have too much blood on my hands. I can't bear to leave a mass murderer alone when he could attack another village."

Ness squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth in pain. Ninten looked at Ana, who wore a confused expression. He guessed that she didn't know what Ness meant about the blood on his hands either.

"Well, if it really means that much to you…" Ana trailed off. "I want to come with you, but I need to advocate for Mr. Montague here. Something tells me that Secretary Monotoli will need some persuasion to see reason."

"It's fine," Ness said. "You don't have to protect me, Ana."

"I can manage on my own as well," Gerardo said. "Don't feel like you have to take care of me, Miss…"

"Aniah," Ana finished for him. "But please, call me Ana. While I appreciate the sentiment, I really do need to go with you and chat with Monotoli about this."

The five of them stared awkwardly at each other. Well, Ness, Ana, and Gerardo did. Mars looked expectantly at the other four while Ninten tossed different scenarios around in his head. Ana really did need to go with Gerardo, assuming that this Geldegarde Monotoli was as protocol-oriented as he first appeared. Still, Ninten didn't trust Mars alone with Ness. Not by a long shot. He could try to persuade Ness to go back to the city with them, but Ninten could tell from the look of worry on his face that Ness really needed this. Forcing him away from this path would break his heart and probably his confidence with it.

That left only one option.

"I'll go with Ness and Mars," Ninten said. "I'll keep him safe for you, Ana."

"You guys," Ness protested. "I can take care of myself. You don't have to protect me."

"I wouldn't trust a random psion with anyone's life," Ninten said, shoving a thumb towards Mars. "No offense."

 _And he's far more suspicious than just a random psion,_ Ninten added in his head. _I wonder if it's really a coincidence that he met up with Ness and Ana._

"None taken," Mars said. "You two can accompany me while Miss Aniah and Mr. Montague will head back to the city. Is that acceptable to everyone?"

Slowly, four heads nodded, none more vigorously than Ness'.

"All right," Ana told Ninten with a bittersweet smile. "It looks like we have to say goodbye again. Thanks for going with Ness. It really means a lot to me." Turning to Ness, "Try to come back alive, all right? I understand that this means a lot to you, but please don't throw your life away." She kissed Ness on the cheek.

"I'll try," Ness said, flashing a smile so genuine that even _Ninten_ felt it stir something up in his heart.

"Now, Mr. Montague," Ana said. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Gerardo said.

Ana nodded, grabbed onto his hand, and teleported away.

"Heh," Mars said, wearing a smirk that Ninten didn't feel wholly comfortable with. "Sometimes, it can be hard to let go. Cheering from the sidelines is often harder than participating in these kinds of endeavors directly. It's clear that she's used to doing everything for everyone else."

"Where did you get that vocabulary?" Ninten asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You pick up words here and there," Mars said as if it were normal for a bounty hunter to talk like a sage. "You two sure that you want to do this? Again, I won't be responsible for you if anything happens."

"Yes, I'm sure," Ness said. "And thank you."

Mars snorted.

"Don't thank me yet. You might curse my name if I leave you to die. I'll probably try to save you, but you never know what shit will go down in these situations. How about you, Ninten?"

"Yeah, I'm in. Not that I believe anything that you've said so far."

"Ninten!" Ness exclaimed.

"Eh, I'm a suspicious person," Mars said. "Ninten's paranoia is healthy enough. Just one more thing before we go…"

Ninten suddenly felt like a thousand feathers were tickling him, sparing no part of his skin. After a few seconds of struggling not to laugh or hiss, the sensation stopped. Ninten crossed his arms over his chest and then realized that they no longer carried the grime that he picked up from the cave.

"You cleaned his entire body with psionics?" Ness asked, his eyes wide. "There's a power that does that?"

It was true. Now that he knew what to look for, he could easily tell that Mars had somehow cleaned his entire body. It felt like coming out of a bath, only without all of the heat.

"The more that I learn about psionics, the more that I realize that the 'powers' that we denote are pretty much useless," Mars said. "Psionics are a source of power, and we can do virtually anything with that power, so long as we focus it in the right way."

"Philosophy at its most practical," Ninten said. "Still, we should probably go now. Every second that we sit here talking is a second for the murderer to drift away from us."

"True enough," Mars said. "Can both of you ride horses?"

"Uh… yeah?" Ness said.

"Same," Ninten said, "But what does that have to do with anyth-"

Mars' body started growing. He placed his arms on the ground and they became hooves. After a few seconds, he finished transforming his entire body into a horse.

"You can _do_ that?" Ninten asked. _Dang, I'm feeling less and less confident about protecting Ness from this guy…_

 _"Please,"_ Ninten heard in his mind. _"Most experienced psions can. I can't really talk well in this form, so I'm going to communicate telepathically. Saddle up."_

Ninten looked at the saddle on the horse's, no, _Mars'_ back. Was he really going to do this?

"Um…" Ness said. "My experience with riding is limited, so maybe I could go in the back?"

"Sure," Ninten said. "That way you can hold onto me if you feel like you're about to fall."

Ness blushed, probably fearing that exact scenario.

"Ugh," Ninten said, climbing up onto the horse. "This is really weird. But I guess we do move more quickly this way." _Assuming that he doesn't throw us off._

"You said it," Ness muttered, climbing up behind him. "I bet I'm going to be sore before an hour."

 _"You can always use your psionics to heal yourself,"_ Mars said telepathically. _"Thank you both for accepting this… unorthodox method of transportation. Hang onto the reins, Ninten. Let us run with the wind."_

Ninten did just that, grabbing onto the reins as the horse took off. Before long, the wind batted against his face, sending his hair flying backwards as the Mars rocketed forward like a racing steed.


	14. Chapter 13: Revelations

**Hi, everyone! :) I'm still on spring break, so I can get this chapter out earlier than usual. Unfortunately, we're not going to make any headway with Ness and Ninten tracking down the murderer for this week and the next one. This chapter is a Claus PoV and for the next chapter we finally get back to Jeff (he has so few chapters in this story haha). Anyways, I hope that you're all doing well! :)**

 **Like I said, this chapter goes through Claus' story, which collides with other characters' paths. He's not going to be stuck in Winters forever, you know? ;) So while this chapter may feel like a tangent, it plays a pivotal role in this story arc (phew, my arcs are like 100k words long). I'll try to pick up the pace and consolidate PoVs in part 2, which is going to be shorter than part 1 (hopefully).**

 **So yeah, we're not coming back to Ness and Ninten for a while, so just remember that they're tracking down the murderer with Mars as a horse. After reading through the next few chapters that I've written, I was surprised at how they weren't quite as terrible as I thought, but they can get confusing at times. That happens when there are nine characters who play a major role in the climax of part 1, and that's not even including the Jeff part. :/ I'm starting to see why authors don't usually make casts this large haha.**

 **Also, when I said that I would leave the fanfic community after finishing Ceres last chapter, that decision still isn't final. Maybe I'll stick around and write fanfics on the side while focusing most of my attention on actual novels... who knows? :)**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Heh, my brothers got Pokken Tournament last Friday as well. I tried playing it, and I just don't get it. xD Like... I can play smash okay, but for whatever reason that game eludes me. Probably because I have like two hours on it. Yep, Ninten is paranoid, and I made him so partly because Ness is super trusting. I mean, Mars _is_ a pretty suspicious dude. And more on Mars later... in ch. 16. :/ CURSE YOU 3 MAJOR POVS!

 **Phoesong:** Yeah, I mostly call you out since I know that you won't take it as a serious insult (which it isn't). :) Heh, I don't blame you for forgetting some of this story... it gets super confusing at times with like a dozen dynamic characters haha. Now that I think about it, it's probably even more than a dozen. Most books have like three or four. ._. Well, your goal isn't to write novels for a living. :) It's totally fine that people write fanfiction just for funzies. I'm definitely the exception rather than the rule. Yeah, I'll be sure to let you know if I get something published. But considering that the vast majority of authors are hardly known at all and struggle to make a living off of writing, I wouldn't count on "connections". ;)

Aw, thanks! :) Yep, as an aspiring fantasy writer, I try to put a lot of emphasis on the setting. Yep, high learning curve, extreme AU, and complex/confusing even with knowledge of the EB universe. Not a prototypical fanfic, hmm? :) More like survival of the most stubborn, though. xD I know that it takes a lot to cut through all of the crap in this story, so I'm glad that you think that it's worth reading. Yeah, NessxAna has been going on for a while. Same with PaulaxNinten, but since they're on different planets right now... yeah. More on their relationship in part 2. And my romance writing is super weird and not all that gushy/emotional, so I'm glad that you liked it all the same.

No, that's not a weird criticism and you don't have to apologize. :) Thanks for pointing it out. Honestly, I think that the solution is just to switch some of the "whispered" phrases with "said." If my dialogue is good enough, it should stand on its own and reveal character emotion without me really having to point out how the characters are saying things or describing their motions. It's just that right now, the good dialogue part doesn't always happen. ._. Yeah, I did not mean to take classical references that far. xD *Imagines Ninten and Ness riding a boar through an industrial wasteland* plz no. D:

Heh, well Mars in my story isn't _actually_ the god of war, in the same way that Diana and Minerva aren't really goddesses... oh wait, all three of them are actually super powerful. That was a coincidence haha. And we'll see about Ana in this chapter. ;) And I guess I'll just say it... yeah, Claus is going to cross paths with Mars. :) But that's not even the twist. :D Yeah, Boras was Ninten's great-uncle, although Ninten doesn't really see his family in a different way than he sees regular people. Ugh there's so much stuff with family members killing (or trying to kill) each other. D:

Thanks. :) I'm glad that you like Dr. Andonuts, but he's not all weird humor and jokes (as you'll see this chapter). I based him off of Sans from Undertale, so you can probably imagine that he has quite the dark side... after all, he _did_ write those journal entries. And okay, I'll try my hardest not to get sick. I'll wash my hands and stuff.

 **A Fan:** Welp, that sucks. D: I totally understand why you wouldn't want to type all that out again; no need to apologize. :) Yeah, better luck this week! :D

 **crabbyTomato:** Eh, having fun is important too. :) Besides, you're not planning for this to be your primary source of income some day. Oh wait I'm supposed to motivate you to work harder. Uh... yeah, step up your game! :D

Yeah, even just looking at the summary that I wrote compared to all of the other fanfic ones... mine is so intense. xD I wouldn't be surprised if it gave people nightmares haha. And yeah, the author of 50 Shades of Grey wrote fanfics... _Twilight_ fanfics. Just going to let that fact sit there without commenting on it. Heh, I read stupidly long books relatively routinely. I think I mentioned before a 14 book long series where each book was over 700 pages long and many were over 1000 pages. Fantasy, though. xD That seems so weird. Ceres fanfics. :O Well, maybe if I publish an actual book based off of Ceres then that could happen. Oh yeah, Morgan x anyone would be a disaster. O.O

Great. Now I can't get the image of Ninten, Morgan, And Dr. Andonuts in a Starbucks out of my head. D: At least it's a funny image, though. :) An air conditioned 4x4 would have been nice (and hilarious to think about :D), but psions can only shapeshift into living things. See you later! :)

* * *

 _Some people willingly choose to eat hallucinogenic TaneTane mushrooms. I remember reading accounts of victims who scratched their skin raw because they hallucinated army ants crawling all over them and biting them._

 _It made me wonder why people would ever decide to consume such a drug, but now I understand. No matter how much scratching your skin hurts, reality will always hurt more. So instead of a hallucination, I found something more real yet far more fake: another persona._

 _Now I am Dr. Andonuts, an inventor who worries about science and nothing else. After all, I have to deal with my insanity somehow. Yesterday, I saw the ghost of the poor boy who Minerva's draining for psionic energy. It must be my conscience telling me to do something. But if I try, I'll only make things worse. That's how everything's ever been._

 _Guess you were right, Morgan… I've always been good for nothing._

* * *

Claus had long grown used to the strange sights of Dr. Andonuts' lab. Misplaced screws, metal contraptions with complex psionic auras, masses of papers… the doctor did seem like a mad scientist.

Claus, reading a stray journal that he had found strewn about, confirmed those observations.

 _This guy has some kind of disorder,_ he thought. _Two identities at once? Each one with a different appearance? Even before the bombs that he made blew up Aphrodite, this guy wasn't completely… there._

Claus cocked his head. Who was Pan Lorune? Dr. Andonuts mentioned it as his alter ego, but the last name revealed far more than that. Lorune… The royal last name. Emperors usually didn't like to draw attention to their family names for whatever reason, but even besides the legends of the mad Emperor George, Claus knew more than a couple Lorunes.

Boras, Morgan… Ninten.

A psionic spike of power interrupted Claus' thinking. He looked ahead, spotting Dr. Andonuts carrying a two-pronged teleportation device. Instead of his normal, relaxed attitude, the scientist seemed haggard, almost as if a parasite were sucking the life out of him. When Dr. Andonuts turned to face Claus, his steps resounded with heavy _thumps_ rather than their usual light _clacks._

Upon seeing the journal that Claus held in his hand, Dr. Andonuts' expression turned from haggard to ice cold.

"If I were Morgan, I would complain about how I acted kindly towards you by sheltering you here," Dr. Andonuts said. "I would complain about how you betrayed that kindness."

Claus forced himself not to shy away from the doctor's piercing eyes. He had expected Dr. Andonuts to react angrily to Claus' snooping, but this detached response was somehow worse. Claus closed the journal and set it on a nearby desk.

"But I'm not Morgan," Dr. Andonuts said. "So I guess I'll just ask why."

Claus had explained to Ness before that he developed a system for judging a person's threat level. Those who puffed up their chests and yelled the loudest tended to do so only to bury an underlying insecurity. They didn't faze Claus in the slightest.

However, someone who could whisper with the authority of a king came up as a red light on Claus' radar. Someone like Dr. Andonuts who didn't shout in order to convey threats usually could back up their words.

For that reason alone, Claus was tempted to bolt for the door.

"I don't feel like I owe you anything," Claus said. "I appreciate your kindness, but you and Morgan still trapped me and Ninten down in those mines. I'll take whatever information I can get about you."

"Fair enough," Dr. Andonuts said. The journal flew off the desk towards Dr. Andonuts, who caught it in an iron grip. "I would have done the same, I suppose."

Claus gulped. There was no malice in his words, no desperation. Dr. Andonuts displayed his power for practical purposes only.

"How far did you read?" the inventor asked. "Ah. Your mind gives me the answer. Partway through the entry two years ago. Well, you didn't see any of the truly dangerous words that I wrote."

Claus cursed in his head. Normally, the knife Amourus would prevent anyone from reading Claus' mind, but Dr. Andonuts had confiscated the weapon weeks ago.

"Ah, yes," Dr. Andonuts said, pulling out Dynaldas in one hand and Amourus in the other. "The two Osohe knives."

"Osohe?" Claus asked.

"You know how much these knives can do. Do you think that humans could have made them?"

"I suppose not."

"Hmm," Dr. Andonuts said, holding the knives up to his ear. "I can hear their screams. This is a more tragic fate than basically anything else, you know."

"I've seen worse."

"Perhaps, perhaps…" Dr. Andonuts trailed off. "There's an Osohe legend that the three jewels in these knives are mere shards of a blade so sharp that it can slice through the bonds that tie molecules together. Which, of course, makes no sense at all, given the nature of electromagnetic forces."

"Molecules? Electromagnetic forces?"

"Not going to comment that there's a third knife?" Dr. Andonuts held Dynaldas up to his eye. "According to the legends, at least. We all know how reliable those are." Dr. Andonuts put the knives in his pocket. "With a weapon like that, though… perhaps it could break through a psionic aura. We would finally have a way to kill Minerva Carpainter."

Claus perked up at that.

"I can see the bloodlust in your eyes," Dr. Andonuts said. "You could join us, you know. Remember your friend Duster? Minerva turned him into ash. Just another reason for you to hate her."

Duster… gone? Well, he and Claus had never been that close. Still, the empty feeling in Claus' heart spoke volumes about the loss. Just another one of the handful of remaining Aphroditians blown away into the wind. Perhaps Claus would be next.

"I don't want to work with empirists," Claus said. "I think that there are more Morgans than Borases in your group."

"And I think that there are more Minervas than Nintens among your proponents of democracy," Dr. Andonuts said. "But I won't push you. Who am I to take away your right to pick a side?"

Yet another red light. Dr. Andonuts was secure enough in his beliefs that he didn't try to force Claus to join him. Claus didn't know if he wanted to mess with someone so steady and confident.

 _Funny,_ Claus thought, his lips forming a bloodless smile. _Right after I tell myself that he's insane, he shows up on my radar as someone not to mess with._

"And besides," Dr. Andonuts said. "Morgan's state is reasonable, given her circumstances. Imagine if you had to bear the guilt of planetary destruction on your little shoulders."

"Guilt?" Claus asked. "What guilt?"

"You know the legends about the seven needles, right?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "That they seal away a dragon in Aprhodite's core. That only someone with PK Love can pull those needles."

Claus nodded.

"Right, right," Dr. Andonuts said. "And you can probably guess which one of those two is real."

"The second one."

"Ah, such a clever boy."

"Such a patronizing old man."

"Now that's a big word," Dr. Andonuts said. "Patronizing. But just because the needles don't keep the Dark Dragon sleeping, it doesn't mean that the tale is a _complete_ lie. The needles were trapping something, in fact. Or should I say _someone?_ "

Dr. Andonuts looked at Claus expectantly.

"You're supposed to guess," the scientist said.

"I know. Guess I'm just not in the mood for guessing."

The corners of Dr. Andonuts' mouth twitched upwards. Peering into his eyes, Claus saw the first signs of insanity in motion. Something that Dr. Andonuts was about to say couldn't quite be comprehended by the human mind, so his brain made up lies to fill that void.

"It was Giygas," Dr. Andonuts whispered.

"You're serious," Claus said. "You're psyching serious! I was right; you _are_ insane."

"Giygas is real," Dr. Andonuts said, his face showing no signs of humor. "Why else would Minerva Carpainter destroy Aphrodite? She wanted to take out Giygas. Didn't work, unfortunately."

The insanity in Dr. Andonuts' eyes came to a forefront position. The way that his eyes danced around in their sockets, Claus almost thought that the doctor was hallucinating right then and there. Dr. Andonuts flashed a smile that drained every ounce of warmth out of Claus' body. _Insane_ didn't begin to describe this man's mental state.

After a few seconds, the scientist reverted back to the haggard man with the proverbial parasite sucking away his livelihood. All signs of madness vanished; Claus now faced a defeated man rather than a delusional one.

"You're probably wondering what part Morgan plays in all of this," Dr. Andonuts said.

"Honestly, I don't give a psych."

"She knew PK Love," Dr. Andonuts continued as if he hadn't heard Claus. "She pulled the needles for Minerva." Dr. Andonuts looked Claus straight in the eye. "She released Giygas."

"…"

"Is it any wonder that she likes to play the victim? She adored Minerva, and you know what happened next. Morgan had a family back on Aphrodite, you know. A husband and two sons. All dead now. Fried by the explosions. Maybe that's why she can't use PK Love anymore. The pain probably overrides any compassion left in her."

"I know how that sort of pain feels," Claus said.

"But the guilt?" Dr. Andonuts asked.

"Yes," Claus hissed. "I created a monster too."

Dr. Andonuts paused for a second, looking at Claus with a curious expression.

"Ah," he said. "But at least there's hope for you to fix what you've done."

"I guess so."

"Morgan is an extraordinary woman for coming out of her situation at all. Please, try not to judge her too harshly. I snapped under far less."

"Why do you care?"

"Because…" Dr. Andonuts trailed off. "Because I feel like nobody else understands what it means to be her. That separation from the rest of society, perceived or no, is slowly killing both me and her. But you're right; none of this matters to you anyway. To you, she's just another obstacle. Speaking of obstacles… Ninten finally made it out of the cave."

"He's alive?" Claus asked. This was almost too good to be true.

"Can't make it out of the cave dead," Dr. Andonuts said with a shrug. "So you can go free. But there's one little complication."

"Hmm?"

"The mining town that goes down into that vein of the mines? Your brother showed up."

 _Oh no._

"Yeah," Dr. Andonuts said, cringing and averting his gaze. "I think you know what happened next. Nobody survived."

Tears. Claus found his vision blinded with the psyching stuff. The worst part was that he knew exactly why the tears came, and it wasn't because he mourned the death of innocents.

Once again, Claus had been too weak to stop Lucas from hurting people. _That_ was why he cried.

"Still, you might want to consider teleporting back to the city instead of the desolated village," Dr. Andonuts said. "That way, you could warn Monotoli."

Geldegarde Monotoli. Not a very helpful person. Well, Claus couldn't afford to be choosy right now.

"If you'd be willing to do that…" Claus said.

"Of course. Just watch out for me, all right? Morgan wants to ally with Lucas to overthrow the Ceresian government, and I'm working with her."

"You're both idiots," Claus said flatly.

"Perhaps," Dr. Andonuts said with a chuckle. "Perhaps. Teleport."

 _Wait,_ Claus thought as the lab faded around him. _He didn't activate a device. He can use psionics?_

Just another surprise about the universe's most famous inventor.

* * *

Smoke. Sewage. Grime. Those smells were hardly new to Claus.

After Dr. Andonuts teleported him away, he appeared in a side street of a metropolis that he recognized as… Well, the Vulcanese didn't really name their cities. Claus always referred to it as "That big city with the astroport." If anyone needed further explanation, he could mention that it was where Apollo Carpainter rose to power. Everyone in Vulcan knew about that.

As Claus walked out into the main streets, he heard footsteps coming from behind him. He whirled around to find himself face to face with a group of dirty men. The one in front smoked a cigar, which few Vulcanese had access to.

"Ceresian psion," the man with the cigar said, jabbing a finger at Claus.

Why would the man oppose Claus outright in Ceres' main city of operations? Did Dr. Andonuts teleport him to the wrong place? No, that didn't make any sense. If he wanted to harm Claus, he could have done so quite easily.

"I'm surprised that you're this bold in our city," Claus said, hoping that he put his faith in the right man.

"You Ceresians can beat us, but you can't silence us," the man said. "You should know better than to travel alone. Didn't your mommy ever tell you to stick with your friends?"

His lackeys chuckled and jeered. Claus ignored them.

"Starman murdered my mom," Claus said. "Stuck a knife right through her gut. It sent me working for the psicrystal company. I bet you know how _that_ place treats its workers."

"Are all Ceresians such bad liars?" the man asked. "You can't get away by pretending to be one of us. Your hair tells us that you come from Ceres."

Claus sighed inwardly. Redheads like Claus were extremely rare on Vulcan. It usually came in handy when Claus needed to act important, but now it only served to burn down a bridge between him and his people.

"Relax, my friends," came an authoritative voice from behind Claus. "He's with me."

Claus looked behind him to see Ana and Gerardo Montague walking towards him. Ana's eyes lit up upon seeing him (psych if Claus knew why), and Gerardo smiled at him as if not a day had passed since they had last seen each other.

"Montague," the man with the cigar said. "You've always been too soft on Ceres."

"The boy is with me," Gerardo repeated. "Would you like the entire Hestia division to turn against you? Our influence reaches far above the mines, you know."

The man with the cigar narrowed his eyes.

"I suppose not," he said. "But you're a fool for working with Ceres. They only come here to hurt us."

The man with the cigar and his lackeys faded back into the side streets.

"Claus!" Ana said, seeming genuinely happy that Claus was alive. "I sensed a spike of energy, so I thought to look. Lucky that we were close, huh?"

"Lucky for them, yeah," Claus muttered. Turning to Gerardo, "Did Ninten actually make it to you after I sent him off?"

"I found him passed out on the cave floor, if that's what you mean."

 _Naturally,_ Claus thought. _Ninten can't do anything without falling into mortal danger._

"Close enough," Claus said. "Can you two tell me where Monotoli is? I need to meet with him."

Claus' stomach tied itself into knots. He closed his eyes, imagining an ocean of blood. Crimson waves crashed on the sand, smearing the landscape. And in the middle of it, the face of his brother, cackling as a storm raged above and knives fell from the sky. Claus didn't know where the abstract image came from, but reality wouldn't be much prettier if he didn't act soon.

"I need to meet with him too," Ana said. "An empirist psion told us that Mr. Montague here would help us appeal to the Vulcanese."

"True enough," Claus said. "But this is urgent. Hmm… If you met Gerardo, then you must have gone to the massacred village, right?'

"How do you know about that?" Gerardo asked. "Ah, I shouldn't be surprised. You always know more than you have the right to, one-eye."

Ana raised an eyebrow. _One-eye?_ her expression seemed to ask.

 _I'll tell you later,_ Claus motioned back.

"Dr. Andonuts told me about it," Claus said. "And I know who did it. We need to devote all of our efforts to finding him. Monotoli has to see that."

"Who was it, then?" Ana asked.

"Nobody that you know. But he's powerful, probably more than anyone else in the universe. We need to muster every psion on Vulcan if we want to take him down."

"You seem confident."

"You seem skeptical."

"Can you really blame me?" Ana asked with a sigh. "But I believe you… I think."

"One-eye wouldn't lie about something like this," Gerardo said. "If he's this serious, he's telling the truth."

 _You put far too much trust in me, Gerardo,_ Claus thought. _But yes, I'm telling the truth this time._

"Right," Ana said. "I can lead you to Monotoli. Mr. Montague, you should probably stay behind if that's all right with you. Secretary Monotoli may not want to hear what we're about to say, and I doubt that the presence of another stranger would help."

"Of course, of course," Gerardo said. A cloud of smog passed over Claus, sending him into a coughing fit. "You know the fancy Ceres people better than I do. I'll stay here with the smoke and grime of the Vulcanese."

"Oh, Ceres is unsavory in its own right," Ana said. "You just have to look a little harder to find the filth."

* * *

Claus walked up the metal stairs of the building where Geldegarde Monotoli resided. Did Monotoli know that before he came, this building used to house the Vulcanese government? Did he even care that taking over the building make Ceres seem like an invader?

 _Clang, clang, clang._ Claus' heart thumped along with his footsteps. After only meeting Monotoli during the military sign-ups, Claus already got the feeling that the Secretary of Defense didn't always see reason. The way that he occupied this government building indicated that he preferred to use brute force to make his statements rather than finesse. Most people only used brute force when they were lazy, overconfident, or scared of the opposition. Claus needed someone with none of those qualities.

"Nervous?" Ana asked.

"No point in denying it, I guess," Claus said. "Although a few months ago, I probably would have denied it anyway."

"I guess Ninten rubbed off on you. He's always one to admit his own faults.'

"Until it comes to emotional weakness."

"Hmm?"

"He was in denial about missing you. I think that his pride can cause him to cover up his weaknesses."

"Missing someone isn't weak."

"Try telling him that."

They continued to walk in silence. The polluted air tickled Claus' throat, as if telling him to say _more._

"Pride or fear?" Ana finally spoke up. "It's possible that Ninten's afraid of seeing himself as fragile. His father _did_ train him never to show weakness."

"Isn't that a kind of pride?" Claus asked.

"I think it's a little different," Ana said. "Pride is when you want to feel good about yourself. Escaping fear is when you when you want to avoid hating yourself. To me, those are distinct problems."

"I guess it doesn't really matter," Claus said with a shrug.

"But it does. Monotoli carries the same stiffness as Ninten, except he hides it under a silver tongue. Pride… fear… I'm not sure which one it is, but we need to play around it if we want to convince him to go after the mass murderer."

Claus stared at Ana. Was she always analyzing people like this?

"Yep," Ana said with a smile. "You're not the only one who tries to size up everyone they meet."

Well, she knew about that little habit of his as well, apparently. Delightful. What else had she figured out about him?

"Here we are," Ana said, gesturing at the metal door in front of them. "You ready to meet Monotoli?"

"Don't really have a choice," Claus muttered.

"Yeah, I know how you feel." Ana opened the door. "In we go."

Claus stepped into the room. Surprisingly, it looked as bare as the rest of the building. No mahogany desks or priceless paintings. It appeared that Monotoli was a pragmatist inside and out.

And a pragmatist wouldn't hesitate to read his mind. Claus wasn't powerful enough to create a full mind shield, but he could use psionics to create a haze around his thoughts. That would make it difficult for Monotoli to pick up anything more drastic than a flat-out lie.

"Secretary Monotoli," Ana said. "You are free, I assume?"

Monotoli stood up from the chair behind his metal desk, flashing a smile at Ana.

"Of course," he said. "We made an appointment, and I always honor my promises. And who is…?" Monotoli trailed off, looking at Claus. "You are one of the missing psions. Claus, is it?"

"Yes, sir," Claus said.

"Ninten is safe as well," Ana said, "For now, at least. He's not in the city."

"Then where is he?" Monotoli asked. Turning to Claus, "And what happened to you after you went missing? It's been almost a month."

Claus told Monotoli everything that happened, from Morgan capturing them to the weeks spent in Dr. Andonuts' lab. He left out the part about Ninten's relation to the Lorune family, saying instead that he was also confused as to why Boras and Ninten fought each other away from the main battlefield (which was technically true). He also refrained from mentioning Lucas and his research about psionic savants. No need to let Monotoli know before he got to know Claus at least a little.

"Dr. Andonuts?" Monotoli asked. "He doesn't have psionics. I met him myself. Psions can detect other psions, as I'm sure that you know."

"I think that the secretary is right," Ana said, shooting Claus an apologetic smile. "He could have been using a device that you didn't see. That would make more sense than him hiding his psionics for 60 years."

How could Claus explain that he just _knew_ that Dr. Andonuts used actual psionics? Ana was right; it would have made more sense for him to use a hidden device, but something about the scientist tipped Claus off. If only he could describe what.

"Well, thank you for the report, soldier," Monotoli said. "I'm sure that your family will be happy to know that you're safe."

 _Right,_ Claus thought, Monotoli's words hitting him like a shove. _My family._

"Claus," Ana whispered. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said. "It's just that my family is dead. Dead or worse."

"Ah," Monotoli said. "I didn't know."

Did he, though? Wouldn't the Secretary of Defense know about Minerva's little genocide on Aphrodite?

"That is why I need to talk to you about my remaining family member who falls into the 'worse' category," Claus said. "A mining village to the northeast was massacred by a swordsman. Ana can vouch for that."

"And you think that someone in your family did that?" Monotoli asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Right," Claus said. "We need to do everything that we can to kill him."

"We do not _need_ to do anything," Monotoli said. "I make the decisions here, not you."

"Claus," Ana hissed. "The person who killed all of those people is really…"

"My twin brother, actually. His name's Lucas. Neither of us had the decency to die on Aphrodite when the bombs fell."

"Well, we can't have a psychopathic murderer running around," Monotoli said. "I'll send some psions to deal with him. But watch your tone next time, soldier."

Claus bit down a retort. Fear, pride… whatever motivated Monotoli to cover up his weaknesses, Claus needed to fake respect to soothe that part of him.

"Sir," Claus said. "A few psions won't be enough. This murderer is a psionic savant."

Monotoli nearly toppled over.

"How could you possibly know about that?" he asked, a flame appearing in his hand.

"Is that a threat?" Claus asked. "Lucas is my brother. I spent months trying to figure out what happened to him."

"Wait a second here," Ana said. "I'm not used to being the one who's behind on everything. What's a psionic savant?"

Monotoli shot Claus a glare that said, _this is all your fault._

Claus shrugged. Lucas was a savant, and that wasn't his doing. Not liking the truth didn't make it go away.

"You know how psions can only connect with a tiny fraction of their cognitive self, right?" Claus asked. "You know, how we exist in a parallel plane as our thoughts, and we draw energy from that place to power psionics?"

"This is getting really metaphysical really fast," Ana muttered. "My head is starting to hurt." Faked annoyance faded to concern. "But please go on."

"Right. Psionic savants are people who are so connected with their cognitive self that they merge their physical and cognitive essences."

"So…" Ana said. "They get the full 100% connection with their cognitive sides?"

"Right," Claus said. "But it translates to more than raw psionic power. They can craft psionics in ways that people like you or me could never imagine. A psion turned savant could level a city with a twitch of a finger or travel to alternate universes. At least, that's what the experts say."

"So why didn't that happen with Lucas? He killed everyone without a godlike display of power."

"Savants are still restricted by their training. You know how I'm a psychic warrior rather than a psion? If I turned into a savant, I still wouldn't get psychokinetics or telepathy. No idea why."

"He's a psychic warrior too?" Ana asked.

"No," Claus said. "He's a soulknife. All that they can do is call on psionic weapons and armor."

"A soulknife..." Monotoli said. "I didn't know that those still existed."

"Well, that doesn't sound too dangerous, even with a savant's powers," Ana said.

"It's more dangerous than you would think," Claus said. "He could probably fight Minerva Carpainter head on and force her to flee."

Ana's face paled.

"You're certain about this, soldier?" Monotoli asked.

"Read my mind," Claus said, removing the psionics that obscured his thoughts.

"I… see," Monotoli said. "Very well. I will send all of the psions that I can to hunt him down, keeping a few in reserve just in case Morgan Lorune spun a web of lies in your mind. For now, I shall have our seers scry and locate his position. You said a village to the northeast?"

"Yeah," Ana whispered, looking down at the ground. "The one that leads to the mines."

"Village B27, then," Monotoli said. "Thank you for this information, soldier. You are dismissed."

Claus nodded. Monotoli had proven himself pragmatic enough to take Claus' warning seriously, but would his pride or fear lead him to approach the situation in the wrong way? Sending psions to directly attack Lucas would only create more corpses… and Lucas would not be one of them.

Claus followed Ana out of Monotoli's room and down the stairs. Ana's shoulders sagged and she nearly tripped down the stairs twice.

"Hey," Claus said. "Is everything all right? I mean, I know that you probably don't need my support or anything, but…"

"No, I appreciate the concern," Ana said, turning around and smiling weakly. "How dangerous is Lucas, really?"

"Like I said, he could beat Minerva Carpainter in a fight."

Tears welled up in Ana's eyes.

"Ness and Ninten followed after Lucas with a man named Mars," she said. "I don't know where they are anymore, so I can't teleport to warn them. If they find him…"

Claus' heart skipped a beat. Ana's eyes begged him to tell her that they would be okay, but Claus wouldn't let himself lie to her. Not about this.

"That's right," he said. "If they find Lucas, he will almost certainly end up killing them."


	15. Chapter 14: Test Subjects

**Hi, everyone! Happy Friday! :) As this story creeps along ever so slowly, we turn back to Jeff for this week. To be honest, I think that this might be the worst chapter of the entire fic so far, so brace yourselves. I might have said this before, but I struggle to make Jeff's PoV any good at all. If I base an actual novel off of this fic, I'll definitely cut his story out. Sorry, Jeff. :)**

 **But anyways, school's end is drawing near. Oh my gosh I graduate from high school in like two months what is life. I'm really scared to go off and live on my own haha.**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Yeah, lotta Lucas stuff coming up. For this chapter, though, we're going back to Jeff. Oh yeah, I made Claus' backstory super confusing... Well, you already know a decent amount about him. But yeah, his backstory won't be fully revealed until the interludes of book 3 (so more than an entire fic from now haha). But we'll definitely get more of his backstory in the interludes coming up not too long from now... but I guess with the once per week update, it will be a couple of months. Maybe I should update more often haha. I'm a bit better at Pokken now; I can do the basic combos and I have some (probably noob) strategies that aren't just mashing buttons.

 **A Fan:** Yay, it worked this week! :D Yeah, that entry of Dr. Andonuts is rather confusing, isn't it? But remember, Andonuts isn't completely sane. I wouldn't put too much stock into the literal things that he views. Or maybe what he said _was_ real in a plot-twisty way. o.O You really like mentioning Dues ex Machinas, don't you? :P Well, that's the nature of legends, right? Something really op that may or may not exist. And Morgan was the one who knew PK Love, not Minerva. :) Again, don't put a whole lot of stock into that Lucas is a ghost thing. He's very much alive. Soulknives are discussed in the next chapter, but basically they're rare because they suck. Still, a sucky psionic savant is still quite dangerous... Yeah, yeah, I got an explanation. Honestly, it's pretty much the same as City of Progress (where Lucas and Voice get trapped inside of Lucas' own mind while the exterior goes bonkers). See you! :)

 **Guest:** Yeah, hopefully. I'll say right now that I'm not one to put in endings that are catastrophic... so there will be at least a bittersweet result to this conflict. :)

 **crabbyTomato:** I'm pretty sure writing novels will never be a decent source of income for the vast majority of writers. But hey, that might just be my cynicism talking. :) I know, right? Erotic romance is like... ugh. And the actual word count on that series is 4.4 million. :) Yeah, I read the whole thing. One of my friends even read the whole thing and his entire opinion was "meh." 4.4 million words of meh. xD Yep, based off of Sans but definitely not the same in every regard. Sans is sane. Dr. Andonuts... maybe not so much. xD But yeah, that's what I was trying to go for. But I'll say right now that he's not nearly as powerful as Sans.

Yep, Morgan has a pretty good reason for absolutely despising Minerva. And thanks. :) Yeah, I knew that the Dark Dragon wouldn't make a lot of sense in the context of the story, and I needed a reason for why Giygas has done like nothing in the past few thousand years so I came up with that idea. I've never played Mass Effect 2 before, but that sounds pretty cool. Also, the name Omega. Always in last. D: Well, Monotoli _might_ not have known, but yeah the dude's really stuffy. Yep, "Ghost" is literal. Also, dat grammar correction xD. I can't remember if I chose to make that mistake intentionally (I sometimes use blatantly wrong grammar like that when it would sound OoC to say it right). Which doesn't make much sense, considering that Lucas is quite alive, hmm? See you later! :D

* * *

 _If someone else is reading this, please understand that I know just who I am. By the time that you're pouring over these words, I've probably messed with forces better left alone._

 _You're probably wondering why I don't stop myself. To explain, I'm going to play the victim and say that you don't really know what emotional pain feels like. Psyneural scientists determined centuries ago that emotional pain affects our brains in the same way that physical pain does, but society refuses to accept that our cognitive selves can bleed like our physical selves._

 _Let me try to explain. Depression doesn't take away one's perspective. Remember, try to compare this to physical pain. If my arm got sliced off, I would still know that crying and screaming wouldn't do any good. It's not like half of my brain would go away with the lost limb. But most of us accept that it's okay to cry out in pain because we can't really control it._

 _So while I know that I'm being counterproductive, I can't really help myself. If you're still confused, I'll sum up in one sentence why I will bring so much pain onto this world._

 _I can't bear to do anything else._

* * *

"That's enough!" Aloysius Minch said. "Class dismissed."

Jeff sighed in relief. Beads of sweat trickled down his face, giving him the itch to take a shower. He lowered the practice sword that he had been using for drills, finding it much easier to carry when not extended in front of him. A property of torque, he reminded himself. Objects further away from the pivot tended to rotate more.

Jeff put the sword back on the rack, stretching his arms out. He survived another session of swordplay. Time to get back to the fun classes.

"Mr. Minch," Jeff said, walking up to the portly teacher. "I have a question for you, if you don't mind."

"Make it snappy," Mr. Minch said. "I don't get paid for students bugging me."

 _You shouldn't teach if you don't like talking with students,_ Jeff thought, biting back the reply.

"Have you seen Mr. Agerate at all?" Jeff asked. "He's been absent from Intro to PSI for weeks."

Mr. Minch eyed Jeff suspiciously. Worried that Jeff knew about the dark rumors that surrounded Mr. Agerate, perhaps?

"Why do you care?" the teacher asked.

"Just curious," Jeff lied, shrugging like it meant nothing to him. "It just seems a little strange for a teacher to be absent for nearly three weeks straight."

"Oh," Mr. Minch said, relaxing visibly. "Of course you'd be curious." His face hardened. "But it's none of your business. Teachers sometimes need to travel."

"Do you know that he's a psion?" Jeff asked.

Mr. Minch blinked and then scowled.

"I take that as a no?" Jeff said.

"A psion," Mr. Minch muttered. "Just another reason to be suspicious. Listen, kid. I have no idea why Agerate went missing, but be careful. That fellow did a lot of bad things."

"Do you suspect him of killing Pokey?"

The blood drained from Mr. Minch's face.

"Out," he said, pointing at the door. "And never talk to me about that again."

"I want to investigate that too," Jeff whispered to himself, walking out of the room. "Especially since Mr. Agerate disappeared then just like he did now. Who might end up dead this time?"

Jeff shook his head, closing the door to the classroom behind him. Just what did Mr. Agerate hide under his easy smile and laid-back personality? The teacher was skilled enough not to give Jeff any leads, which only made the process more infuriating.

"Um…"

Jeff looked up. In his spurt of deep thinking, he had almost walked right into Paula.

"Oh!" Jeff said. "Sorry! I, er… didn't see you there."

"It's okay," Paula said, her cheeks rosy. "I've been told that I'm quite easy to miss."

"No, not like that!" Jeff said. "I was just thinking. And I'm also all sweaty. Sorry about that, too."

"You just came from a swordplay class," Paula said, her eyes showing a glint of humor. "Of course you're sweaty."

Well then. Jeff had to check twice to make sure that this was really Paula.

"Is it really that surprising that I can say something without whispering?" Paula asked. "You seem at a loss for words."

"No, I mean…" Jeff trailed off.

"Ah, you can't lie to save your life," she said. "I… wanted to talk to you. Is that okay? I know that you probably want to get back to your dorm room to change, but can I talk with you along the way?"

Now _there_ was the concern that Jeff had grown to expect.

"Yeah, of course!" Jeff said, moving towards the student housing. "Is something wrong?"

"With me, yeah," Paula said, walking next to him. "I wanted to apologize for how I acted when I got the news about Ninten."

Paula blushed, shrinking backwards. The motion reminded Jeff of all the vapid, noble ladies in popular films.

"You don't need to do that!" Jeff protested. "I mean, you just needed some time to recover."

"I suppose," Paula said. "That time _did_ do me well. I finally forced myself to stop playing the victim. Have you ever done that, Jeff?"

"Played the victim? Pretty much everyone does it as a kid."

"But you don't anymore. Why is that?"

"I guess I just do what I want. It's hard to get too mad when I'm working with technology."

"But what if someone comes along and just ruins your day? What if you start to get those bitter feelings?"

The last time that had happened, Mr. Agerate set him straight. Jeff didn't know what he would do if something like that happened to him now.

"Why do you ask?" Jeff said.

"I don't know," Paula replied. "It's just… Well, I think that my bitterness tends to get a lot worse when I'm alone. I lived the past four or five years with only my parents, and they were never really… there for me. I used to feel that any bad luck I received was the universe trying to spite me. Nobody told me to put things in perspective."

Jeff remained silent, paying attention to the rhythm of his footsteps so that he wouldn't have to think of a response. Because really, what could he say?

"But then," Paula said. "I met Ninten. I don't think that he ever feels bad for himself. He'll call himself a jerk in front of a crowd and there won't be any spite in his words. When I cursed the universe for Ninten going missing, I thought of how he would act. He would shed his tears, accept the sorrow, and move on. So that's what I did."

"Uh… that's good," Jeff said.

"Sorry," Paula said with an embarrassed smile. "I know that it's hard to respond to something like that. I guess the point is that I needed someone else to put things in perspective for me, even if that someone wasn't physically there. Do you have a friend like that?"

Jeff halted, cocking his head. _Did_ he have someone like that?

"Poo doesn't," Paula said. "I think that's why he's so bitter about Dalaam."

"I guess Mr. Agerate _was_ that sort of friend," Jeff said. "But I don't know anymore."

"He does go missing a lot, doesn't he?" Paula asked.

Jeff examined her face, looking to see if she knew more than she let on. Nothing.

"And he hides so much from me," Jeff said. "He's a powerful psion, yet nobody knows anything about him. And Mr. Minch thinks that he killed Pokey."

Paula's face twitched with pain when he mentioned Pokey.

"And you trust Mr. Minch?" she said. "Have you _heard_ some of his conspiracy theories?" She paused. "But I can see why that would make it hard for you to trust Mr. Agerate. It does seem like you're kind of alone. Tony's a great guy, but he doesn't really help with the whole perspective thing. We need to get you an understanding girlfriend."

Now _that_ was a terrifying prospect.

"Please don't try to hook me up with anyone," Jeff said. "I don't need that kind of stress in my life."

"Aw, come on!" Paula said. "Live a little! Isn't there _anyone_ who you have a crush on?"

"I'm perfectly fine on my own," Jeff said.

"I was fine on my own too until my world turned upside down and nobody was there to help me," Paula said.

Jeff fidgeted with his glasses. Did she mean Ninten going missing? Because her behavior before that wasn't "fine" by any stretch of the imagination.

"Well, well, look who it is," came another female voice from behind Jeff.

Jeff turned around to spot Kumatora walking towards Paula with an icy smile on her face. Paula's expression turned to stone.

 _Right,_ Jeff thought. _They hate each other ever since that argument about religion._

"Popular today, are we?" Kumatora asked Jeff.

"More like desperate for someone to talk to."

Paula shot Jeff an appreciative glance.

"Hello, Paula," Kumatora said.

"Hello."

 _Can't they at least pretend to like each other?_ Jeff thought.

"Do you still hate me for defending Diana Carpainter?" Kumatora asked.

"I'll drop that if you will."

"You should learn from that experience," Kumatora said. "If your religion is really about love, then you shouldn't use it as an excuse to hate someone."

"It's hard not to get defensive when you put your opinion before my feelings," Paula said. "So let's just drop it, all right?"

Kumatora shrugged. _Your loss,_ her posture seemed to say.

"Jeff," Kumatora said. "Tony and I have been looking through the labs ever since you two went there without me a few weeks ago."

"Labs?" Paula asked.

"Chimera labs," Jeff explained. "At least, that's what we think they are."

"Should we really talk about this out in the open?" Paula asked, looking around.

"Well, you don't really need to be a part of this conversation at all," Kumatora said. "No offense. It doesn't really concern you."

"I think that a chimera lab concerns everyone," Paula said, smoothing out her dress and flashing a smile.

 _Gah,_ Jeff thought. _What do they gain out of taking subtle shots at each other?_

"I said no offense," Kumatora muttered.

"And I didn't take any," Paula said, her fake smile growing wider.

"Sure," Kumatora said. Turning back to Jeff, "We were supposed to meet up at the labs this morning, but he wasn't there. Did he show up during swordplay today?"

"Nope," Jeff said. "Maybe he's really sick or something?"

"Checked the hospital and his room," Kumatora said. "Wasn't in either place. He probably spent the morning goofing off in a park or whatever. It wouldn't be the first time that he totally forgot. And the klutz forgot to bring his portocom, too. I tried calling him and he didn't pick up."

 _To miss swordplay, though…_ Jeff thought. _I would assume that he could remember something so routine._

But then again, Tony had never been known for his punctuality.

"Yeah, probably," Jeff said. "Should we just wait until he turns up?"

"Sure," Kumatora said. "Not like there's much else we can do."

Kumatora turned around and strode away. Paula let out a sigh.

"It's hard for me not to hate her," she said. "Aggressive, arrogant, impolite… and she knows me too well."

"Well, try not to judge her too harshly," Jeff said. "That's just her way of doing things."

"That just makes me hate her more," Paula said. "At least if she were actively trying to hurt me then I could despise her with a clean conscience." Paula inhaled sharply. "But hey. One teenage girl hates another. I just screamed a dust speck. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. See you later, Jeff!"

As Paula walked away, Jeff reflected that social intricacies like this were why he preferred to work with psionic devices in the first place.

* * *

Tony didn't show up the next day. Or the day after that. By the third day, Jeff could feel his anxiety bubble, about to burst like a volcano. He needed to talk to someone.

That was how he found himself in the library, sitting next to Paula. Studying for finals, she suggested. Hopefully, she wouldn't judge him too harshly for this.

"Um…" Paula said, biting her lip. "Is everything all right? I mean, not that I think that something's _wrong_ with you, but…"

"You seem a little more reserved than you did when we last met," Jeff said. "More… cautious. Did something happen?"

"No," Paula said. "I just… ran out of steam, I guess. Acting like this is easier for me."

She blushed, her dainty posture only adding to the effect.

"Well, maybe you should work on that," Jeff said. "Unless you're okay with being shy all the time."

"It's more than just being shy," Paula said. "The constant worries. The bitterness that feeds off of itself. I _don't_ want to be this way." She paused. "But it's hard to keep the voices down."

"Voices?" Jeff asked.

"They tell me that I'm not good enough," Paula whispered. "That I…" she trailed off. "You probably don't want to listen to me complain. The point is that I often lapse back into a state like this and I don't know what to do about it."

"Well, this is still a lot better than how you were a month ago," Jeff said. "So you're on the right track."

"That's sweet," Paula said with a smile. "But it's taking all of my willpower just to sit here and study without going into hysterics about Ninten."

"I don't think that anyone can blame you."

"I can blame myself," Paula said. "And in the end, that's who I have to please. Now, I don't understand what makes a wilder different from a psion. Could you… maybe explain that to me? Sorry if it's obvious."

Paula blushed again.

"Wilders are basically psions with more raw power and less versatility," came Kumatora's voice form behind Jeff. "We wilders use our emotions to craft psionic powers. Feeling angry? A wilder can summon an inferno with that anger. But we can't pull out any old power when we want to because we don't have a reliable process for manifesting our psionics like psions do."

Paula nodded awkwardly, shifting around in her seat. Kumatora sat down next to Jeff.

"Any sign of Tony?" Jeff asked hopefully.

"I was hoping that you had something," Kumatora said. "I'm starting to worry about him."

"Tony's still missing?" Paula asked. "Shouldn't we file a report? Or did you already do that?"

Jeff exchanged a glance with Kumatora. Neither of them had, apparently.

"I was thinking that we should investigate the chimera labs ourselves," Kumatora said. "Maybe he got stuck in there or something."

"Um…" Paula said. "Shouldn't we tell somebody about it?"

"I don't want to get Tony in trouble for sneaking around there," Kumatora said. "If we tell the government… Well, you know how they are."

"I don't know about this," Jeff said. "The last time we went snooping around, it didn't turn out so well."

Paula opened her mouth to say something and then closed it, blushing profusely. Even Jeff could tell that she was curious about what he had meant by snooping around the last time.

"Something that you want to ask us, princess?" Kumatora said.

"Nothing!" Paula said. "So, uh… Are you two actually going to the chimera labs?"

"I am," Kumatora said. "Jeff's free to tag along."

 _And you're not,_ her tone implied.

"I'll come," Jeff said, latching onto the opportunity to separate Paula and Kumatora. "Paula, would you mind filing a missing person report for Tony? You don't have to mention the fact that he might be in the chimera labs."

"I…" Paula's eyes flashed with panic. "Sure. I can do that."

"You can?" Kumatora asked.

Paula gulped and then nodded.

"You're positive?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah," she said, smoothing out her dress. "I'll do it now. Goodbye."

As Paula stood up, Jeff's portocom started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket, holding his breath. Did Tony finally decide to call him?

No. Jeff looked in dismay as the caller's ID appeared on the screen. No, that wasn't right. The portocom displayed a psyching _message_ written in black, shaky letters. It read:

 _Whatever you do, stay far away from the chimera labs. Trust me on this one._

 _-LOVE_

Jeff inhaled a sharp breath. Portocoms were supposed to call other portocoms, not serve as a board for random people to send messages on! And the way that the letters trembled on the screen… it was enough to make Jeff think that the words had minds of their own.

"Is that a threat?" Kumatora asked, looking over Jeff's shoulder.

"A warning, maybe," Paula whispered, her face pale.

"A threat," Kumatora said, sniffing. "We're not going to let someone who's too scared to confront us keep us from going there."

 _Er…_ Jeff thought. _We're not?_

"Come on, Jeff," Kumatora said, her face softening. "Now I'm starting to worry that something _did_ happen to Tony. We should head over there just in case."

Jeff shuffled his feet. Did it end well the last time that they barged into a forbidden location? No, of course not. Would it end well if they tried again? Probably not. Couldn't Kumatora see that?

"You were willing to go to the labs when Tony saw your dad," Kumatora said. "Now that someone might be in danger, can you really say no?"

"I guess not," Jeff said. "But… I don't know how much help I'll be. You _are_ the psion, after all."

"Wilder," Kumatora corrected. "And aren't you concerned about Tony? Don't you want to see for yourself that he's safe?"

"Leave him alone!" Paula squeaked. "Can't you tell that he doesn't want to go with you?"

"It's okay, Paula," Jeff said. "I can go."

"You're letting her guilt you into this," Paula said, her face turning downcast.

"I…"

"Coming, Jeff?" Kumatora asked. "Remember, it's only Tony's safety on the line here."

"I should probably leave," Jeff said, shooting Paula an apologetic smile. "See you later."

"I _hope_ to see you later," Paula whispered as he walked out of the library aisle.

* * *

"Here we are," Kumatora whispered. "Looks like a haunted house."

It _did_ look like a haunted house. Weeds encroached on laboratory grounds, grass growing so high that it came up to Jeff's waist. Jeff kicked an empty can as he walked up to the lab's entrance. The lab itself looked like something out of a horror novel. Degraded walls strained to hold the building up the ceiling; the darkness veiled anything more than twenty feet inside of the building. Jeff swore that he heard a growl coming from inside.

"Don't look so scared!" Kumatora said. "Nothing's going to hurt us."

 _Then why hasn't Tony come back yet?_ Jeff thought.

"Not everyone can be as confident as you," Jeff said, his voice shaking.

"I suppose that's true," Kumatora said. "My light."

Beams of light flashed from her irises, lighting up the area inside the lab.

"Into the lab we go," she said. "You ready, Jeff?"

 _If nearly pissing my pants counts, then sure,_ Jeff thought.

"Ready?" Kumatora asked again.

"I… Guess so."

Kumatora nodded, walking into the lab. Jeff couldn't help but picture the entrance to the lab as the mouth of a monster. Biting his lip, Jeff followed Kumatora into the darkness.

* * *

Jeff's nerves started to calm down after a few minutes. He and Kumatora wandered the halls of the surprisingly large complex, noting numerous caged animals that hardly looked different from their natural counterparts. They passed by cages of genetically modified wolves again, which nearly sent Jeff running out of the lab. If Kumatora weren't there, he probably would have booked it long before then.

After what felt like hours of walking through halls, Kumatora halted, causing Jeff to nearly crash into her.

"That room," she said, pointing to the door in front of her. "I sense a psionic aura behind it."

Jeff gulped.

"You _did_ bring your psionic lockpicking device, right?" she asked.

"N-No," Jeff stammered.

"Don't worry; I'm not mad," Kumatora said, smiling at Jeff. "I can just blast down the door with my psionics."

 _I'm not scared of you,_ Jeff thought. _I'm scared of what's behind that door!_

"PK Fire," Kumatora muttered, flames rising from the ground and licking at the door.

Nothing happened. The flames died out within seconds.

"Psych it!" Kumatora said. "Protection enchantments. Of course."

"Whatever's past there, someone obviously doesn't want us to get in," Jeff said. "Maybe we should leave it alone."

"Or maybe it's Tony," Kumatora said. "What better place to keep a captive?"

"So how do you think that we should open it?" Jeff asked. "I got nothing."

"Same," Kumatora said. "Maybe I can rattle it open or something…?"

Kumatora walked up to the metal door and grabbed the doorknob. She turned it and the door opened.

"…Oh," Kumatora said. "It wasn't locked. In we go, I guess."

But that didn't make any sense. Why would someone create a psionics resistant door and leave it unlocked?

"The psionic aura that you sensed," Jeff said. "Was it the door?"

"I don't think so," Kumatora said, cocking her head. "There's an aura that takes up the entire room."

"It could be a trap," Jeff said. "This room probably isn't in use, since it's unlocked. Maybe it used to hold something special and the scientists forgot to disarm the trap?"

"Nah," Kumatora said, walking into the room. "I could tell if it were a trap. This is something… different. I don't know how to describe it."

Jeff sighed, following Kumatora into the room. Bookshelves lined the walls and a desk stood in the middle of the room. Some sort of office, perhaps? On the desk lay a book opened to a page written entirely by hand.

It read, _"The solution to dwindling psionic crystals reserves."_

Jeff started reading:

 _"May 13, 79 A. F._

 _"I know that I am taking a big risk by documenting what I have done, but I wish to leave a record for anyone who discovers what my secrets. After all, even though I am nearly unkillable, I will surely die one day. If you wish to speed up that process, I wish you the best of luck._

 _"For over a millennium, the empire used psionic crystals mined on Ceres, Aphrodite, and Vulcan to power cities. All sites of the Osohe Empire. Diana believes that the Osohe had some way of cultivating these crystals underground, but we do not. I am now faced with the bitter truth: we will run out of psionic power within the next century."_

"Jeff," Kumatora said. "We should look around. A lot of these books look interesting. Didn't Ms. Monotoli say something about rediscovering my memory here?"

 _"Needless to say, I was enraged. The Empire couldn't find a sustainable source of energy in a thousand years? I suppose that they didn't care about fucking us over. Now I have to deal with the consequences._

 _"Again, please let me make clear that I never wanted to do this. And again, try to kill me if you want. I'll be waiting for you, Claus."_

Wait, WHAT?

"Oh my god," Kumatora said.

Jeff ignored her, turning back to the handwritten book:

 _"I decided to power Ceres by using human psions as reusable energy cells, essentially. Dr. Andonuts invented a wonderful machine to extract psionic power from a psion (based off of starmen pods used to hold prisoners), and it would be a shame not to use a tool that would keep us alive for the next century. Psions will live in liquid-filled pods, where they will soon enter a coma. They will not be able to leave. In there, the machine can suck away their power._

 _"Since psions naturally accumulate psionic power over time, they provide a stream of energy far more bountiful than anything else ever conceived. Even nuclear energy pales in comparison to this. The machine can push the comatose psions to their limits, causing them to call over more and more energy from the psionic plane. With a dozen psions, I could power all of Ceres."_

"No!" Kumatora shouted. "No! This can't be real!"

Jeff didn't know what she was referring to, but he could almost imagine her reacting to this book.

 _"Unfortunately, I don't have a dozen psions yet. I have two psionics-users and a third subject who I'm testing for something else. I will write their names here so that they will not be forgotten. If you wish to free them, they are located in a lab on Vulcan. Good luck finding them._

 _"The first subject's name is Lucas. I call him a human chimera, but only because Dr. Andonuts' machines alter his brain in a specific way so that it aligns with a starman's. He is still physically a human, but I'm starting to realize how little that matters. With him, I'm testing to see if the Dr. Andonuts' machine can turn him into a psionic savant. It should be able to, but I'm sure that you know how often lab work fails. I'm truly sorry either way, Claus._

 _"As part of the psionic savant conversion process, I recruited the help of a wandering spirit named Fassad. He's not dead, but neither is he truly alive. His job is to keep tabs on Lucas and hijack the boy's body if it becomes dangerous. It breaks my heart to do this, but if my experiment actually works and Lucas becomes a savant, I'll be able to drain almost inconceivable masses of energy from him. After all, savants harness psionics so efficiently that sucking all of that power away will net me enough energy to sustain most of Ceres._

 _"The second subject's name is Kumatora."_

Jeff's jaw dropped. He read the line again. Was _this_ what Ms. Monotoli wanted them to find? That Kumatora had been a test subject? But who would place this journal out in the open if it contained such dangerous information?

"Jeff!" Kumatora shouted. "I found Tony. He's…" Kumatora choked back a sob.

Jeff looked up as Kumatora dragged Tony's body out from behind a bookcase. His eyes were wide open, unblinking.

 _Oh no,_ Jeff thought. _Please, don't say…_

"He's, dead," Kumatora whispered. "He's psyching dead! Who the psych did this? I swear, I'll rip their beating heart out of their body and force it down their throat!"

"Such spiteful words," came a voice that made Jeff's skin crawl.

Jeff whipped around to see a cloaked figure standing at the rooom's singular exit, a pack of wolves trailing behind them. That voice… Jeff knew who that voice belonged to, even if he didn't want to believe it.

"Mr. Agerate," Jeff said to the cloaked figure. "I guess Tony was right about you."

"Hmm," the cloaked man said. "You kids should know better than to test your mettle in places like this. I let you off when you discovered me conversing with Giygas, but this? I don't think so."

"You mean how Ceres is extracting power from psions to use as energy?" Jeff snarled.

"We _were_ doing that," the cloaked figure said. "But all three of them escaped. A pity."

The cloaked figure shifted his gaze towards Kumatora, making Jeff's skin crawl. He knew what the look meant, even if she didn't.

"Tony found the book too, didn't he?" Jeff asked. "You knew that he would tell everyone, so you killed him!"

"Obviously," the cloaked figure said in an offhanded way that made Jeff's blood boil.

"What?" Kumatora asked. "What are you two even talking about?"

"It doesn't matter," the cloaked figure said. "Considering that you won't survive the hour."

"Mr. Agerate…" Jeff whispered, biting back his rage. "I looked up to you. I really did. But now that I see the _real_ you, I take all of that back!"

"Like it matters," the cloaked figure said with a snort. "Any last words?"

"PK Fire," Kumatora whispered, her voice itself alight with fiery rage.


	16. Chapter 15: Stain-Glass Sword

**Another beautiful Friday... well, it's beautiful where I live, anyways. Spring and all that stuff. :) Thank goodness I did well on my physics test so that I don't have to study the stuff again for a retake... (yes, that happens in high schools these days). AP tests are in like a month I'm scared. O.O But then again, a lot of you guys probably have more to worry about than standardized testing, so I will stop moaning about how much my life sucks.**

 **Anyways, four chapter climax incoming (although one chapter is Jeff's so idk if it counts). This chapter focuses mostly on Claus and Ana, so I hope that you don't hate them too much. ;) These chapters get a little abstract at times with all of the psionics and stuff (read: confusing as psych), so I tried my hardes to make it easy to understand.**

 **Also, I doubt anyone cares, but I think that this week is my one-year landmark for fanfic writing. Or maybe it was last week. Meh.**

 **As always, reviews are more than welcome. :)**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Yep, it's never a good sign in a book when a supporting character goes missing (well, pretty much never). The third test subject will remain a mystery for a while. :) Yep, confusing as psych backstory planned since prologue of book one. ;) Actually, the exact events of that day are pretty much the last things to be revealed about Claus' and Lucas' backstories. Ah, it's good that you find all of the main characters to be interesting; I think that Jeff's pretty boring haha (he's too much like me ._.).

 **A Fan:** Thanks. :) Yeah, I had a lot of cool stuff planned for Jeff, but it actually fit better with the Vulcan stuff so I shifted it over there (like the whole thing with Lucas the psionic savant). So... Jeff kind of got the short end of the stick. :P Yeah, it's tough to put Jeff in an interesting place because a lot of interesting places are combat oriented and Jeff gets one shotted by everything like a normal person (since my whole excuse as for why characters can take a lot of punishment like in their games is the psionic aura, which Jeff doesn't have). That's true about Duster too. Huh.

Yep, another journal. :) The author will be revealed later, but there are really only a few people who could have written it anyway. It's not a big twist. And the issue with power isn't the _current_ power supply, it's the _future_ power supply. Ceres will be fine for like another century or so without another power source. It's just that journal person is trying to plan ahead. Think of it like fossil fuels irl. Eventually, they're going to run out and we're going to be screwed, but people don't really care as much as they should (myself included). And Lucas has already escaped and murdered an entire village. Yeah, a little awkward. D: And yep, it's Ness who's trying to help Lucas in Magicant.

Someone noticed how weird Mr. Agerate was acting! :D Rest assured that there's a reason for it. As for Jeff, we'll see... in ch 18. ;) Oh my gosh that's close to a month from now maybe I should update more. But then AP tests. D: And for Kuma... she doesn't know teleport and she basically fights by getting mad and using that to draw on psionic power so she doesn't always make the most tactical decisions. But yes; defense would probably be the better option there. :) Ah, that's good. Sometimes, authors and readers have a different idea about which chapters suck. xD

 **PSIBoy:** Yup, killed off a minor character. Pretty par on course for plot twists. For such a long fic series, though, not that many people have died. I think the only three important characters who actually died during the fic time and not in flashback are Pokey, Boras, and now Tony. Does the random slaver guy count? Yeah, Kumatora really didn't say anything bad. It was pretty much "Dude, get over it Diana's not that terrible even though she was a cultist." Now, Paula knows that she's wrong but still hates Kuma for acting superior about it. Yup, cliffhanger resolved in chapter 18. Maybe I should release these chapters sooner haha. And I'm glad you noticed how weird the whole remorseless killer thing is out of the blue. There's a reason for it. :) Eh, I don't know how harshly you judge your work, but I'm not a huge fan of mine. For me, it's like, "Wow. That was absolute garbage. Now, time to work more." But there are moments where I'm like "Oh wow I'm surprised that I came up with something that wasn't completely horrible!" See you! :)

 **crabbyTomato:** Yep, Sans is a little ridiculous. In that sense, I guess Diana is kind of like Sans... she's really op but doesn't always end up doing that much. Although... that might be about to change. :) Oh, yeah. :( Yeah, that was basically the reason why Jeff didn't react more; Agerate simply didn't give him the time. I know, death is messy. D: I even wrote an essay for Lit last year analyzing two poems, one about a single death and one about a lot of deaths, and said that most large-scale conflict stems from the fact that we can't comprehend what thousands or millions of deaths really mean. Otherwise, the poem with a lot of deaths would have been a lot sadder and it really wasn't. Yep, not Tony's ID. Yep, Kumatora was a test subject along with Lucas and an unnamed third person. Satisfactory? xD For some reason, using that word after your imagery makes me laugh. Welp, hopefully she grows on you because she's in the second part of this story quite a bit (spoilers: she survives through part 1). She's probably the third or fourth most important character in the second part, after... nah, I don't really want to confirm anyone else living through part 1. :) But yeah, Paula's "I'm easy to miss" is meant like "It's okay that you almost bumped into me I don't really make myself visible anyway." Which still sounds a little attention-grabby, I guess. Ah, don't worry about scattered reviews. I would rather you write down your thoughts instead of trying to organize them and forgetting some. :)

* * *

 _I guess I should explain why I'm depressed. This is a journal, right? I'm supposed to insert as much sappy material as I can._

 _I wrote that the guilt I feel from President Carpainter using my nuclear weapons nearly pushed me over the edge, but there's more. Of course they're more. My life is basically a television drama._

 _I'm supposed to be the strong one for Morgan. Not because of my gender (Divine Rulers know how little that matters), but because she suffered far worse than I did. Minerva was her friend, not mine. Her spouse and kids died in the explosion, not mine. But I'm barely hanging on as it is. How do I help her if I can't help myself?_

 _Still, it's my job to support her and I've tried and tried and tried. I don't know how much longer I can last. I've never given up on anything before in my life._

 _Maybe it's time to start._

* * *

"I… need to stop," Ness said. "Please."

Mars (who still held the form of a horse) pulled to a halt. Ness spotted no signs of civilization for miles. In the midst of the Vulcanese wasteland, he couldn't help but worry that he would never make it back to Ceres… or Earth.

"Everything all right, Ness?" Ninten asked.

Well, at least he wasn't completely alone.

"Yeah," Ness said. "I'm fine."

He leaned off the side of the horse and barfed.

"Ugh!" Ninten said. "I don't think that qualifies as 'fine'."

Ness managed a weak shrug between gasping lungfuls of air.

 _"Nerves?"_ Mars asked telepathically.

"I guess so."

 _"You okay to keep going? The murderer won't stop to let us take breaks like this."_

"Psych off," Ninten muttered. "It's not his choice."

"Ninten…" Ness said.

 _"I intend no offense,"_ Mars said. _"But if you are this nervous, I do not know if you should take part in combat. If you wish, I will teleport you back to the city."_

"I can do this," Ness said, quelling the nausea in his stomach. "Give me another chance."

 _"Of course,"_ Mars said.

Mars took off into a gallop. Ness wrapped his arms around Ninten so that he wouldn't go flying off Mars' back. Did all horses move so quickly? Ness didn't know how anyone would _want_ to do this.

"You doing all right?" Ninten asked.

"Yeah," Ness managed.

"Why don't you distract yourself with something?" Ninten asked. "It will make you forget about your nerves."

 _"Ness, I picked up on some… interesting thoughts a while ago when I read your mind,"_ Mars said. _"Can you really use PK Rockin?"_

Well, distraction found.

"PK Rockin?" Ninten asked. "I think Ana told me about that move."

 _"Her mother is powerful enough to imitate it,"_ Mars said. _"But even Megan Aniah cannot access the move's full potential."_

"And you can, Ness?" Ninten asked.

"I think so," Ness said, raising his voice to be heard over the wind.

 _"It dates back to the Osohe Empire nearly 3000 years ago,"_ Mars said.

Ninten yawned.

 _"You did tell me to distract Ness, did you not?"_

"Distract him with something more interesting than folklore, then."

 _"Whatever you say, sir,"_ Mars transmitted in a dry tone. _"PK Rockin is one of the three psionic powers that the Osohe prized, along with PK Starstorm and PK Love."_

"PK Love?" Ninten asked. "Sounds like the cheesiest power ever."

 _"The Osohe valued emotional connection,"_ Mars said. _"The Osohe also valued music far more than we humans do, which is why they created PK Rockin, a move based off of vibrations."_

Ness nodded, remembering Faldin, the Osohe city that Fassad created in Magicant. He could still _feel_ the way that those vibrations satisfied him in ways that he couldn't describe.

 _"PK Rockin basically manipulates vibrations, physical or cognitive."_

"Some sort of special power _that_ is," Ninten muttered.

 _"The cognitive vibrations mostly exist in the psionic realm, which can damage the brain or be broadcasted to blind those that see with psionic senses… such as starmen."_

"On second thought, that's actually not too shabby," Ninten said.

"But I made a bunch of people lose their balance," Ness said. "And I don't think that I vibrated anything."

 _"That,"_ Mars said. _"Comes from specific vibrations that target the vestibular system."_

"Um… what?"

 _"Basically, we have a system our inner ear that maintains our balance. Creating vibrations that mess up that system and causes people to lose their balance."_

"But I wasn't trying to do that," Ness said.

 _"That's what makes you different from Megan Aniah,"_ Mars transmitted. _"Natural PK Rockin users just know how to use the move. It's terrifying in the hands of an experienced psion. By causing vibrations that resonate with each other, you can tear down bridges or topple buildings without using more than an ounce of psionic power."_

"Those Osohe still picked some weird powers to create," Ninten said. "How do you know all of this?"

 _"I actually study the Osohe quite a bit, even though my primary job has always been killing things,"_ Mars said.

"Well, keep it up," Ninten said. "I think that I could use the distraction from what we're about to face too."

The nausea returned to Ness' stomach. How much longer until he would have to face the person who slaughtered an entire village? When the time came to fight, what would he do?

 _"Sure thing, captain,"_ Mars said. _"Prepare your mind for more filler material. A property that all three of those Osohe powers share is that you can boost their strength from drawing on outside psionic power. Normally, there's a limit to how much you can augment a power, and we call the final stage of that power the omega version. But with PK Rockin, you can draw on all of the psionic power that you can carry. If you ever want a little more firepower, just pack a couple psionic crystals before you fight."_

"There's no limit to how strong PK Rockin can get?" Ness asked. "So if I gathered all of the psionic power in the universe…"

 _"Yeah. Theoretically, you could use it all in one fell swoop."_

"That's scary as psych," Ninten muttered.

Ness opened his mouth to agree, but he found himself yawning instead.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's bored by some of the stuff that comes out of your mouth," Ninten said.

 _"None of this is coming out of my mouth,"_ Mars retorted. _"Telepathic communication, remember?"_

But Mars didn't bore Ness. In fact, Ness wanted to know even more about what his special power could do. For some reason, he just felt sleepy…

"Ness," Ninten said. "Ness! You're starting to teeter a bit."

Was he? Ness blinked and reoriented himself.

"Hey," Ninten said, his voice softening. "You okay?"

 _"It almost seems like Ness' cognitive self is trying to leave his body,"_ Mars transmitted.

"How can you tell?" Ninten asked.

Ness didn't know how when his eyes closed, but it did register in the back of his mind that he was slipping away. Ness felt his grip on Ninten loosen.

 _Wha…_ he thought. _Why? I got plenty of sleep last night. Why am I so tried now?_

Ness vaguely felt himself flying off the horse and falling through the air. He fell asleep before he hit the ground.

* * *

Claus sat in Ninten's room, trying to keep his lunch inside his stomach. He had already vomited up most of his breakfast (not that he would ever tell anyone). Acid started to climb up his throat; Claus mustered all of his strength and pushed it back down.

Yuck.

After all of these months, Claus' dream finally came true. He would have a chance to kill Lucas. Claus imagined the feel of hot blood running down his sword and onto his fingers. Claus hated some of what Lucas had done, but he still loved his brother enough to do the right thing.

So why was he so psyching nervous?

"Hello," Ana said, opening the door and walking into the room. "Monotoli found where Lucas is. We're all meeting up, along with the ectoplasmic soldiers."

"Already?" Claus asked. "It's only been a few hours."

"A team of seers can scan areas quickly," Ana said with a shrug. "Since they knew that he was relatively close to the mining village, it didn't take long."

"Still, lucky," Claus said, standing up. "Ready to go?"

"If you are."

"I was born ready," Claus said.

"Is that so? I wonder why you hurled up most of your breakfast."

"You _saw_ that?"

"Your face this morning gave it away. 'Going to take a piss' my ass."

"The food just didn't agree with me."

"Or maybe you're scared," Ana said. "There's no shame in it."

Claus crossed his arms.

"Let's go," he said. "We don't want to hold up the strike force."

"If you say so," Ana said, shooting Claus an insufferable smile.

* * *

Claus waded through the mess of psions and ectoplasmic warriors in the central square of the metropolis. The psions' purple robes made him sick and the ectoplasmic warriors made him sicker.

"I can't believe that you're going to fight in that thing," Claus muttered.

"This robe?" Ana asked. "It actually doesn't slow me down."

"But it offers no protection," Claus said. "Nobody here other than me is wearing armor."

"Yeah, it's a pride thing for most psions," Ana said. "If you can beat your opponent without a weapon or armor, it makes a statement."

"Is that why you're wearing the robe?"

"Psych, no!" Ana exclaimed. "I've just never been trained with armor. For a rich girl like me, combat was always more of a sport. And sports are less fun with suits of metal weighing you down."

 _"Attention, all psions,"_ came a telepathic message from the ectoplasmic soldiers. _"This is your president, Minerva Carpainter."_

Claus could barely stop himself from hacking the soldiers to bits.

 _"Thank you all for volunteering on this dangerous mission. This inhuman killer must be stopped at all costs."_

"Psyching nice for her to say," Claus muttered. "She psyching turned him into a savant."

"Really?" Ana whispered.

"She sucked away his psionic energy to power Ceres and made a lethal weapon all in one," Claus whispered back. "She wouldn't pass up on something so damn practical, regardless of the few morals that she _might_ have left. Oh wait, you don't know about how she…"

"Nuked Aphrodite? Yeah."

 _"I will teleport all of you to the destination shortly,"_ Minerva transmitted through the soldiers.

"Heh," one of the psions said. "Why do we need so many psions to deal with a single murderer? I bet I could take him alone!"

 _Lucas would kill you before you blinked,_ Claus thought.

 _"I appreciate your enthusiasm,"_ Minerva said, _"But this killer is of a different breed. Let my ectoplasmic soldiers lead the charge. You have to trust me on this one."_

"They still don't believe it," Claus said. "They still can't fathom a force in the universe more powerful than them."

"That attitude basically _is_ Ceresian psionics," Ana replied with a smirk.

 _"Three… two… one…"_ Minerva said. _"Teleport."_

Minerva teleported groups of psions and soldiers at a time. After a few seconds, the world faded around Claus and he found himself standing in a wasteland of garbage and dust.

 _The Industrial Desert,_ Claus thought. _This was probably a rainforest a century ago._

The lonely howls of the wind and the smell of rotten food could attest to this place's current state.

Claus stood behind rows of ectoplasmic soldiers (he estimated about a thousand in total), next to Ana and other psions whom he didn't recognize. Even if Minerva was a pathetic excuse for a human being, she could still use psionics in astonishing ways. Claus didn't know anyone else who could arrange a mess of psions and soldiers into a battle formation mid-teleport.

He looked past the line of soldiers and felt his heart leap. In the midst of the dust and garbage stood a young boy wearing a helmet that obscured his eyes. Even from the distance, Claus picked up on the complete lack of emotion in the boy's posture. "Stiff" couldn't even begin to describe how mechanical he looked.

In contrast, the boy carried a transparent sword that was the most beautiful thing Claus had ever seen. The sword displayed ever-changing color patterns, each one remaining for less than a second before switching entirely. Each combination of colors that the sword adopted looked absolutely perfect. Soft contrasts and smooth transitions made the sword look like a collage of stained glass that danced under the light of Vulcan's sun. Claus forced himself to tear his eyes away from the work of art and looked back at the colorless boy.

 _"Your orders are to stay back and fire psychokinetic power from range,"_ Minerva transmitted. _"These soldiers will do the dirty work."_

Claus remained silent while most of the psions sighed or groaned. He appreciated the chance to see just how strong his brother had gotten before he entered the fray.

The ectoplasmic soldiers began their march forward. Lucas looked at them almost quizzically, as if regarding a colony of ants. After all, why would something so weak as an ant attack a human?

Hopefully, these soldiers would work together to overwhelm Lucas like army ants.

"PK Freeze," Ana whispered.

Other psions uttered similar phrases and slung psionics at Lucas. For each projectile about to hit him, a tiny barrier appeared over part Lucas' body and absorbed the hit.

"What the psych?" Ana muttered.

"He has the power to manipulate psionic armor," Claus said. "He's good enough that he can make patches of armor just big enough to cover specific attacks."

"That's insane," Ana said.

"Now do you see why I wanted all of these psions here?" Claus asked grimly.

"PK Fire," Ana whispered, flames sprouting up from the earth.

Lucas covered his whole body with armor; the flames licked the barrier and died out within seconds.

"No fair!" Ana protested.

"If he spreads his armor out like that, then each part of it is weaker," Claus explained. "But it's all immune to psionics, so it doesn't really matter."

"Mind th-"

"Don't even bother," Claus said. "His aura is strong enough that you can't affect his body directly with psionics."

"Is he psyching _invincible?_ " Ana asked.

"We're about to find out," Claus said.

The ectoplasmic soldiers fired off psionics of their own (controlled by Minerva, no doubt), but Lucas covered himself with patches of translucent armor and the psionics fizzled out. The soldiers pointed their weapons at Lucas and charged.

A hundred spears _should_ have rammed into Lucas, but he managed to weave between each one. Claus looked at the space in between the spear and figured that it was literally impossible to dodge all of them, yet Lucas somehow managed to pull it off.

Lucas sliced a soldier in two, his stain-glass blade shimmering in the light. The sword went through the ectoplasmic soldier as if it were cutting through air. The soldiers jabbed and slashed at Lucas, but a combination of timely patches of armor and impossible dodging left him without a scratch. Even when the psions fired their psychokinetic powers, nothing managed to pierce Lucas' wall of defense.

Lucas darted in between soldiers, his sword whipping around his body so quickly that it became a colorful blur. Any soldier that entered Lucas' reach was immediately sliced in two. Lucas advanced forward, each movement as fluid than a river. Claus stared at Lucas' graceful slaughter of the ectoplasmic soldiers in horror. The soldiers behind Lucas started regenerating; they could do so for as long as Minerva possessed the psionic power. It looked like Minerva's psionic energy would run dry before Lucas got tired.

Claus' heart pounded his chest. Did they have any chance _at all_ of beating this mechanically perfect warrior?

Lucas started to pluck the tiny, golden needles out of each soldier that he killed. That way, Minerva couldn't regenerate them. At this point, Lucas looked more like a force of nature than a human, destroying as he pleased with no concept of compassion or mercy. Claus felt the back of his throat go dry.

"Attention!" Captain Strong roared. "Minerva's soldiers can't take this kid. We're going to have to engage him ourselves."

 _"Urgh…"_ Minerva transmitted through one of the few remaining warriors. _"Be careful. He's tougher than you think."_

"Yes ma'am!" Captain Strong said. "You kids back there! Stay back and let us handle it."

"Fine by me," Ana said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't want to be the first one to fight him."

"I thought you were the aggressive type," Claus said.

"Aggressive is different than stupid. After seeing what Lucas did to those ectoplasmic soldiers, I'm not feeling confident about my chances against him…"

The fifteen or so adult psions advanced towards Lucas.

"Psych," Ana said. "They're really not scared. Don't soldiers usually hold back more than that?"

"Soldiers do," Claus said. "I guess Ceresian psions don't."

Lucas sliced apart the last ectoplasmic soldier and tossed its needle away. He looked up at the force of psions approaching him, brandishing his sword. The psions fired off elemental psionics, but Lucas' armor absorbed each one.

"Still seems ridiculous," Ana muttered. "Why does he get impenetrable armor?"

"When he uses his armor, his sword deals less damage," Claus said. "It's just that he's too damn good at holding his armor up for an instant so it doesn't look like his sword even gets weakened."

The psions summoned ectoplasmic weapons and armor, just like Lucas. They continued to sling psychokinetic bolts of energy as they moved closer to the savant. Bucketfulls of ectoplasm fell from the sky, burying Lucas in a sea of goo.

"Powers like those don't have much range," Ana said. "That's why the psions wanted to get close."

Lucas remained still for a second. Claus' heart leapt. Did the ectoplasm actually immobilize him? The next second, Lucas' sword flashed around his body in a blur, cloaking him in a rainbow haze. Ectoplasm flew outward in all directions, nearly reaching Claus and Ana. Most of the other psions got covered with the goo, and they thrashed to get it off.

 _Uh-oh,_ Claus thought. _Not good._

Lucas ran towards the psions, his feet bounding on the ectoplasmic goo as if it were stone. He approached Captain Strong, weaving between ectoplasmic arrows shot from other psions. The police captain brandished a sword, screaming curses.

"Something tells me that this won't end well," Ana whispered.

Lucas sliced through Captain Strong's head. Because of the police captain's psionic aura, he survived the attempt and looked no worse for wear. Strong slashed at Lucas, and Claus knew from years of experience that no person could dodge that attack in Lucas' position.

But then again, Lucas wasn't really a person anymore.

Claus' jaw dropped as Lucas weaved around Captain Strong's sword, the blade missing him by less than an inch. Lucas stabbed Captain Strong in the heart. The police captain crumpled and fell to the ground.

"Dead," Ana whispered, her voice shaking. "I can't sense his aura."

"But his psionic aura should have allowed him to take more!" Claus said.

"He disabled Strong's psionics," Ana hissed. "When Lucas cut through Strong's head in that specific way, he cut off the neural pathways that connect to the psionic realm. That disabled Strong's psionics as well as his aura."

"So the next attack…"

"Right. At that point, Strong was just a normal person. No psionic aura to save him."

Lucas leapt to the next target, blocking sword strikes, arrows, and psychokinetic attacks. He took out two psions with a flick of his sword.

"So powerful…" Claus said. "How can _anyone_ do enough damage to break through an aura with one attack?"

"And give them no chance to psionic stall it out," Ana muttered. "Claus, we need to leave."

Lucas leapt towards a group of psions, slicing through four in a single sweep. Three died instantly while another slash took out the fourth one. Four more bodies crumpled on the battlefield. Lucas didn't pause before sprinting towards his next target.

"I'm going in," Claus said. "I need to end this right now."

"Claus!" Ana said. "You'll-"

Claus didn't wait for her to finish. He took off in a tearing towards Lucas like his life depended on it… which it did, in a way.

"Force screen," Claus whispered, a transparent shield appearing in front of his chest. "Vigor."

Psions mocked the lack of disabling psionics that psychic warriors possessed, but Claus knew a number of powers that would keep him from dying instantly to Lucas' blade. Lucas' aura was too powerful for these psions to affect him directly with telepathy attacks; buffing up was the only way to fight him.

By the time that Claus reached Lucas, all of the remaining psions had either been killed or warped away. Claus smirked despite the exertion. Ceresian psions boasted enough swagger to match a king, but when things got truly dangerous they would run away just the same.

Lucas looked up at Claus. Even seeing his dear brother didn't change Lucas' expression in the slightest.

 _Should have expected this,_ Claus thought. _No way that he would just wake up when he saw me._

Lucas dashed towards Claus, his face still devoid of expression. Claus felt like vomiting again. It was bad enough that his brother was trying to kill him, but the fact that he didn't feel anything about doing so… It alerted Claus to a fundamental _wrongness_ that struck a deep chord within him. He wouldn't have minded if Lucas were enraged or sadistically happy. He knew how to deal with people who felt that way. But something about Lucas' blank expression terrified him more than watching his home planet go up in flames.

Lucas whipped his sword around faster than Claus could believe. Claus managed to parry most of Lucas' attacks, but a few got past his defenses and ate through Claus' psionic aura like acid on metal. Sure, he could survive for a while, but the pressure would never relent.

Now that Claus saw Lucas' sword up close, he could barely manage to tear his eyes away from it. It looked even more beautiful up close, with the colors shifting to make pieces of stained-glass art more harmonious than Claus had ever seen. The sword made a humming noise at exactly the right pitch and tone to send Claus into a state of awe. When looking at the sword, Claus pictured an entire city made out of stained glass with crystalline towers piercing the clouds. Claus gritted his teeth, telling himself that he would _not_ fall prey to the beauty of a psyching weapon.

"Claus!" Ana shouted. He could hear her footsteps approaching him.

"Stay back!" Claus shouted, taking a swing at Lucas. "This is my fight!"

In response, fire erupted underneath Lucas' feet. A screen appeared at the last second to block the fire, but Ana hadn't intended for the attack to deal damage. For a split second, Lucas' entire body was covered with armor, taking all of the energy out of his sword. Claus synchronized his attack with the fiery explosion, knowing that Lucas couldn't parry well with his weakened blade and hoping that a strong swing could break through Lucas' thin layer of armor. Lucas staggered backwards, barely managing to put enough distance between him and Claus to avoid the attack. For the first time, Lucas had shown something other than sheer grace.

Maybe if the Ceresian psions had worked together, then they could have overwhelmed Lucas by synchronizing their attacks. But each one fought for themselves, not trusting their teammates to get the job done.

Lucas leapt towards Ana, who parried his first attack with her axe but didn't react quickly enough to block the second. Lucas rammed his sword straight through Ana's stomach. She grunted but managed to keep her composure, nearly landing a counterattack on Lucas before he backed off. Lucas' sword left a shallow cut in Ana's stomach, but even that worried Claus. The fact that it hurt her at all meant that her psionic aura was almost out. She couldn't take another attack like that.

 _Time to play the hero,_ Claus thought wryly. _Even though it probably suits anyone in the universe better than me._

"Ana!" Claus shouted. "Teleport away!"

Claus slashed at Lucas, causing his brother to parry. It wouldn't be long before Lucas turned his attention back towards the wounded Ana; Claus knew from reports of the mining town that Lucas would kill anyone who crossed his path without mercy.

"Teleport, psych it!" Claus shouted.

Ana looked at him with desperate eyes. Lucas stood between them, preventing her from reaching Claus. Lucas would kill her with a second attack if she tried to reunite with Claus to teleport both of them away. And since Claus couldn't teleport away himself… Well, he was dead either way. Best for Ana to ignore Claus and save herself. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she knew that as well as he, but she reached out anyway. Ana opened her mouth, her expression saying, "I can't leave you."

Lucas forced Claus back with a flurry of attacks and turned back towards Ana. Stiffening her posture, Ana made the proper hand motions and incantations to teleport away. She vanished a second before Lucas would have sliced her in two. Claus sighed in relief.

Lucas turned back towards Claus, his expression as empty as before.

"I can't beat you," Claus said. "I know that I can't. So go ahead and kill me."

Everything that Claus had ever done since leaving Aphrodite was meaningless. After finding out Lucas' condition from the Shard of Ceres, he had vowed to do anything that it took to kill his brother. But nothing was enough. Days spent running across Vulcan negotiating psicrystal deals. Nights spent practicing his psionics until he collapsed from exhaustion. Slitting his wrists every day so that he could get by. Forming an unlikely friendship with Ninten.

None of it meant a damn.

Lucas leapt forward, tackling Claus to the ground. He pinned Claus' hands down with his knees to prevent him from using psionics. Claus didn't even bother to struggle. Lucas grabbed Claus' throat and held his blade up to Claus' head.

 _So… beautiful…_ Claus thought. _The blade… too perfect. How can someone so empty create something so artistic and vibrant?_

 _…And more importantly, why am I not dead yet?_

Lucas moved his sword closer to Claus' head but didn't slice through.

"Lucas," Claus said. "Lucas! Are you in there? It's me, Claus. Your… your brother."

No response.

"Are you really heartless?" Claus asked. "The fact that I'm not dead yet shows that there's at least a little bit left of you, right? Do you remember the days we spent swimming in the lake and playing with the dragos? Do you remember the breeze and blue skies that welcomed us rather than trying to smother us like this godforsaken planet? Do you remember the smell of mom's omelets and how our muscles ached dad's sparring lessons? Do you remember any of it?"

"…"

"Do you remember when we were loved?" Claus whispered, tears streaming from his eyes.

"…"

"Please, Lucas. It's me. We're the only ones left."

"…"

"I know that we can't go home, but can we at least stop trying to kill each other? I… I… just want all of this to stop. I don't hate you anymore. I can't even blame you. I just want this to end."

"An… end?" Lucas' voice sounded unearthly.

"Yes!" Claus said. "Please…"

"It will end when I kill you," Lucas rasped.

Lucas' grip tightened further, cutting off Claus' air valves.

 _Ah, shit,_ Claus thought. _It was worth a shot, I guess. I'm sorry, Ninten. I guess we won't get to eat ice cream like I promised…_

At the last second, Lucas released his grip on Claus and turned his head around.


	17. Chapter 16: Diana

***Awkwardly publishes chapter two days after regular update time with no warning whatsoever**

 **Hey, guys, I have an excuse as for why this update is late, but I honestly don't think that anyone cares so I'll get on with the chapter.**

 **This chapter is also confusing (maybe even more so than the last one), so just try to hold out haha. This one and the next one are a little crazy, but after that things will start to make sense. I promise. :)**

 **...And this chapter may or may not leave off on another cliffhanger. Heh. :D**

* * *

 **Review responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** We'll see this chapter who it is that Lucas saw. :) Haha yeah, it would fill the pattern if Ness were the third subject, huh? Sadly, it's not actually the case (or happily for Ness, I guess). If that had happened to him, he would have brought it up at some point. There will be more Claus and Ana stuff next chapter (not so much this one), so hopefully you can make it through this one. And as for Mars' filler info... I mean, it's honestly not super important plotwise, but it's important for readers to understand characters' special powers if I want to use those powers to solve conflict. I wanted to slip it in for a while, but I never really found the right place. I'm not sure if I know what you mean by a "deliberate description." :( Yeah, the sword is pretty specific and there's no real plot reason for it, but it ties in other ways. See you! :)

 **Darkfoxkit:** Well, Ana's said multiple times that she can't really feel love for Ness, so... yeah. But Ana's character is weird, so who knows where that will go? Yes, I do role reversals a lot. :P I was really temped to put in brainwashed Kuma in this story too and I decided not to, so I do have _some_ new ideas. :D Yep, you're exactly right. Ness went to Lucas' Magicant, and we're going to see a scene there. Ah yeah, both Lucas and Sans do have that really op feel, huh?

 **A Fan:** Well, you reviewed at the last minute, but it took me an extra two days to get this out. DX Naturally, I totally can't judge you. :) I mean, PK Rockin isn't _that_ good. Mind thrust is more efficient as just an offensive power (although it only hits one person), and a lot of psionic powers basically drop goo on people which is kinda the same as making them trip and fall over. And yes, music is amazing. :) I wish that I could play an instrument... although I tried once and I have no patience for it haha. Yeah, Ness does try to help dream Lucas while they fight him, but it's not that whole back and forth intense constant scene swap thing that I do a lot. Yep, Lucas is basically cheating through life. :) And Claus gave up because he realized after fighting 1v1 that there's really no way that he can beat Lucas. And yep, basically. I have plans for that character, so he can't die now. :D

 **crabbyTomato:** Yep, definitely human nature. I watched a nerdy youtube video a while ago that detailed how humans naturally think on a logarithmic scale and explained how it provides an evolutionary advantage (the difference between facing one lion and two lions is huge; the difference between facing 92 and 93 lions is less huge, even if it's the same numerical difference). Sorry, did I bore you to sleep? xD Ah, well... Kumatora's sadly not going to play a large part in the rest of this fic. :( Yeah, Claus isn't super emotionally stable, and he sees fighting Lucas as the culmination of all his hard work. Yeah, this chapter does change the PoV, although it does explain why Lucas turned around (sorta). See you! :D

* * *

 _This is where my journal starts getting dangerous. I do not know if I am insane or if I have vital information to share, but for the sake of time I shall assume the latter._

 _I figured out how to bring someone back to life._

 _I didn't discover this recently, and it only works in highly specialized situations. Basically, if you can repair a body to the point that it could function if it were alive, you can stuff the person's cognitive spirit back in their body. The spirit essentially hijacks its own body back from death and turns it on._

 _Scary? Perhaps. But I am not ashamed of uncovering this technology. I truly think that it's what Torah would have wanted._

 _No, what concerns me is something far more sinister._

(ILH)

Ness found himself standing in a prison. He looked around, recognizing the stone walls and iron cells from before.

Magicant.

Faldin.

Lucas.

"Ness," Lucas said from inside one of the cells. "We need to talk, if that's all right."

"No, I don't think it is," Ness said. "I'm busy hunting down a murderer. I don't even know why I fell asleep."

"I called you here," Lucas said. "I… hoped that I could talk."

"About what?" Ness said. "Because I _really_ need to get back to my mission."

"Something feels wrong," Lucas whispered. "My stomach gurgles. I vomit every few minutes. I can't stay still. I've felt this way before, but I can't… remember…"

Ness sighed. Lucas interrupted his frantic chase for this? But then again, Ness knew that emotions didn't always make sense. He could at least listen to Lucas' problems before returning to hunting down the murderer.

"Something about the outside world," Lucas said. "My body is doing something that feels _wrong._ At least, I think so…"

"Your body?" Ness said. "How can you tell?"

"I don't really know," Lucas said, his physical features changing even more rapidly than normal. "All I can think of is me in a capsule of green liquid. Something about that scares me."

"Something about the outside world, huh?" Ness said. "Now that I think about it, there's something that I've been meaning to ask you."

"Hmm?" Lucas said. "What's that?"

"Do you know someone named Claus?" Ness asked. "When I saw your real face, you looked almost exactly like he does."

Lucas' posture stiffened. He gripped his hands, marching in circles around his cell.

"Claus…" he said. "Claus? Claus."

"Uh…"

In the blink of an eye, the landscape changed from a prison to a plateau that overlooked a river. Dry bushes and wilted grass struggled to stand upright against the sun's merciless rays. A dry breeze passed over Ness, and he shivered despite the sun's warmth.

"Hmm," Lucas observed. "I tried escaping before and it didn't work. But here I am on Drago Plateau. It makes sense that there would be nothing left."

"Fassad was keeping you trapped in that cell with his psionics," Ness said. "Maybe you could escape because he was focusing on something else?"

Lucas stood in silence, giving no indication that he had even heard Ness. After a few seconds, Ness decided to change the subject.

"So…" Ness said. "How about Claus? Do you know him?"

"Unfortunately," Lucas said, his voice remaining neutral. "We spent a lot of time here after the pigmasks executed our father."

" _Our_ father?" Ness repeated. "So you're brothers?"

"Right," Lucas said. "Claus always told me what to do. After father died, we ran away and hid here. The pigmasks razed Tazmily to the ground. We knew that the forest would be next. Nobody would think to look for us in a place where plants don't get enough water to survive."

"How did _you_ survive there?"

"Psionics," Lucas said. "Claus taught me how to sustain myself with psionics. Forced me to learn it, actually. I was too scared of him to resist anything that he did."

"It sounds like it was for your own good."

"Maybe," Lucas said. "But not everything was. Claus was always big and strong while I was always small and weak. He used force to order me around and made me feel guilty when I resisted. And…"

"And what?" Ness asked.

"I think that he killed our mother. I remember being too scared to tell anyone."

"Aw, isn't that a shame?" came a voice from behind.

Ness whipped around to see Fassad striding towards them with a sympathetic look on his face. Ness bit down the urge to shout down Fassad's fraudulent display of emotion.

"Hello," Lucas said. "Perhaps you could tell me why you trapped me in that prison, hmm?"

"I was just trying to keep you safe," Fassad said. "This was exactly what I feared. The boy is trying to corrupt you, Lucas. He wants to control you just like Claus did."

"Ness?" Lucas asked. "No. He reached out for me when I needed help."

"And didn't Claus do the same? Ness will turn you into his slave before long."

"Shut up!" Ness shouted. "You're the one who threw him in that prison so that you could live out your stupid fantasy!"

"My fantasy?" Fassad asked. "I don't have any clue what you're talking about."

If Ness hadn't seen Faldin for himself, he would have believed Fassad's look of innocence. That only made him want to punch Fassad's face even more.

"Lucas," Fassad said. "Let's stick to what you know. You hate Claus, right?"

"Yes," Lucas said.

"Let's see what Claus is doing now, shall we?"

Off the edge of the plateau, a screen replaced part of the sky. It showed Claus lying down on the floor with a sword pointed at his forehead. Ness spotted a number of corpses in the background, each one slit open in the same way as the victims back in the mining town.

Ness looked at Lucas. Was _he_ the murderer all along?

"You could do it," Fassad said. "This screen displays what your body sees. You could kill Claus right now."

Lucas didn't react.

"Do you see those dead bodies in the background?" Fassad asked. "Claus killed them. He's a monster."

On the screen, Lucas' stained-glass sword moved closer to Claus' head.

"No!" Ness shouted. "Lucas, please don't kill him! I don't know how you're controlling your body, but please stop it!"

"See?" Fassad asked. "He's on the same team as Claus. Both of them want to take advantage of you. Ness would slit your throat and toss you aside if you weren't useful to him."

"Would you?" Lucas asked, turning to Ness.

"No, of course not!" Ness exclaimed. "Remember who locked you in that cell? It wasn't me!"

"I did that to protect you from Ness," Fassad said to Lucas. "See how he's telling you to spare Claus? He sees your kindness as a weakness, and he'll use it against you if you give him the chance."

"I…" the words caught in Ness' throat. "Don't listen to him!"

"You don't have to believe me," Fassad said. "But remember, you could kill Claus right now. You have enough will left in you to see this through."

"The only reason that your body's hesitating is because you care about him!" Ness shouted. "Your body is a machine that kills without remorse, Lucas!"

"I… am a machine?" Lucas asked, his voice dangerously soft. "I am a killer?"

"Tell me," Fassad said. "Would a _real_ friend tell you lies like that?"

Lucas backed away from Ness.

"No," Ness said, feeling his heart break into two. "Please, I didn't-"

"I'll kill Claus," Lucas whispered. "He deserves to die."

Lucas' sword moved closer to Claus' head on the screen in the sky. Ness bit back tears. Losing Lucas was bad enough, but losing Claus too…

"Why so sad?" Lucas asked Ness. "You don't need to care about me."

"But I do," Ness whispered.

"Hurry up," Fassad said. "Every second wasted is another chance for Claus to escape."

Lucas reluctantly turned back to the screen.

 _"I know that we can't go home, but can we at least stop trying to kill each other?"_ Claus said on the screen, streams of tears flowing down his face. _"I… I… just want all of this to stop. I don't hate you anymore. I can't even blame you. I just want this to end."_

 _"An… end?"_

"Is that _my_ voice?" Lucas asked.

"The second one was, yeah," Ness whispered. "Sounds creepy, doesn't it?"

 _"Yes!"_ Claus said. _"Please…"_

 _"It will end when I kill you,"_ the Lucas on the screen rasped.

"Lucas, please listen to me!" Ness said. "Can't you see that Claus loves you? He just wants you to stop fighting. Believe it or not, you probably killed all of those people in the background. Please please _please,_ don't add another one to the pile."

"Are you actually _listening_ to that liar?" Fassad snorted. "Go on! Kill him!"

"Claus…" Lucas whispered.

"And even if you're right and he's terrible, somebody needs to stand up and be the bigger person," Ness said. "He's ready to forgive and forget. Can you do the same, even if he's wrong?"

"He'll just control you again if you show mercy!" Fassad screeched. "His kind knows nothing but power. To him, love is a weakness! Kill him now!"

"Ness," Lucas whispered. "I promised that I would try things your way. Would you kill Claus in my situation?"

"I killed a lot of people, Lucas," Ness said. "I can still hear their screams in my head every time I go to sleep. I will _never_ kill another human being ever again, no matter who they are."

"…All right," Lucas said.

On the screen, Lucas released his grip on Claus. Ness looked back at Fassad a second too late. A blast of ice shot from Fassad's hands, aimed straight at Lucas. Time seemed to slow down. Each inch that the ice blast moved forward took an eternity.

 _No,_ Ness thought. _I won't let this all go to waste!_

Ness leapt towards Lucas, pushing him out of the way. A burst of agonizing cold in his side alerted him to the fact that the ice blast hit him instead. Ness screamed, falling to the ground and writhing in pain.

"You idiot!" Fassad shouted. "All that you had to do was kill your stupid brother. Gah! I knew that keeping you alive was a mistake. Once I wipe the floor with what's left of you, none of your conscience will remain to stand in my way. I'll do whatever I please with this body."

Ness felt the world around him grow dark. He tried to use lifeup, but the pain didn't allow him to move his hands in the right way. He had a few seconds left of psionic stall, tops.

"Ness!" Lucas shouted. "I'm sending you back to your body. I'm sorry that I didn't trust you earlier."

Everything went black.

(ILH)

Mars skidded to a halt as Ness' unconscious body landed on the ground. Ninten hopped off his back and ran over Ness, kneeling down next to him.

"Polymorph self," Mars whispered, turning back from a horse into a human.

"What did you do?" Ninten asked, pointing a finger at Mars. "I didn't sense any psionics, but something knocked Ness out!"

Well, accusations like that certainly weren't new. Mars ignored Ninten and walked up to Ness. If sleeping people looked calm or peaceful, Ness looked _empty._ Something about his expression made him look mechanical, just like…

Mars bit his lip. Just like another person who he couldn't save. Just like another person who he had to kill.

Just like Lucas.

"Oh no you don't!" Ninten shouted. "I don't know what you did, but I won't let you get near my friend!"

"You're not thinking straight," Mars said. "Why would I want to knock Ness out? I let him come with us in the first place; why ditch him now?"

"I don't know, but-"

"But you _want_ to make me the bad guy," Mars said. "Because you already don't trust me. You're a smart person, Ninten. I think that you know how little I would have to gain from this."

Ninten opened his mouth to say something but closed it after a second.

"Strange," Mars said. "His cognitive essence really did flee his body. I don't know where it could have gone…"

"What do you mean?" Ninten asked.

"I'm sure you've heard of the psionic realm," Mars said. "Another plane of existence where all psionics are formed. Everyone exists in that realm parallel to their physical bodies, psion or no. And Ness' psionic existence just decided to leave, I guess. I still don't know why we need the psionic realm to function. I mean, neuroscience and cognitive psychology explain _everything,_ from ethics and morals to love and xenophobia. Why do we need our psionic essence to stay conscious?"

"Never pictured you as the intellectual type," Ninten muttered. "But how can you tell that his psionic essence left his body?"

Well, Mars couldn't really explain _that._ If Ninten knew about his PSI vision, he would put two and two together.

"I just do," Mars said. "But where did Ness go? I know that I should be hunting down our murderer, but I've never seen anything like this before…"

"Is it possible that his psionic essence travelled to a different place on purpose?" Ninten asked. "Like… Have you ever heard of Magicant?"

"Oh, yeah," Mars said. "Is Ness a dreamer?"

Ninten shrugged.

 _Actually,_ Mars thought, _I would have expected Ninten out of anyone to go to Magicant. It has a genetic component, and Morgan's the most powerful dreamer in centuries._

"Wait," Mars said. "You're probably right, and I think I know exactly whose Magicant Ness went to."

"Where?" Ninten asked.

Right then, Ninten's posture stiffened. He looked at Mars with wide eyes and crumpled to the ground.

A split-second later, Mars detected a psionic aura right behind him.

"Well, well," Dr. Andonuts said, blinking over to Ninten's unconscious body. "I'm sorry for what I did, but you really shouldn't let yourself get surprised like that." The scientist turned to face Mars. "Why hello there! Fancy meeting you here of all places."

"Why are you here, Andonuts?" Mars growled, pointing his spear at the scientist. "This is none of your business."

"Morgan has decided to make Lucas everyone's business," Dr. Andonuts said. "She plans to unleash him on Ceres. Even if he doesn't kill Minerva, he'll at least show the universe what she creates in her free time."

"And you support that?" Mars asked. "To think that I respected you!"

"The more that I learn, the more that I realize how little good and evil truly mean," Dr. Andonuts said. "They're simply concepts to keep society moving smoothly. But we've moved past that. This is about making sure that we don't destroy ourselves in the next century. Ceres under Minerva's rule will continue to build weapons capable of destroying planets."

"I thought you were a scientist," Mars said. "Our technological innovations are based off of science."

"I still am," Dr. Andonuts said. "But I can worry about the direction that we're headed in, can't I?"

"Sure, go ahead," Mars said, his eyes narrowing. "But stay out of my way. And Ninten's, for that matter. Why are you even here?"

"Morgan told me to get rid of Ness. I assume you've figured out that he's in Lucas' Magicant, trying to free the poor boy?"

Mars growled.

"But I don't want to kill him," Dr. Andonuts said. "It's not really my style. I came here for you, Mars."

"Me?"

"Don't act so surprised," Dr. Andonuts said, rolling his eyes. "You knew from the second we met that I was curious about you."

"Hmm."

Mars walked towards Dr. Andonuts, trying to look casual. At the last second, he pounced… on Ninten's unconscious body.

"Teleport," Mars whispered, sending the boy away.

"I wasn't going to harm him," Dr. Andonuts said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, not more than I already did. You going to do the same for Ness over there?"

 _No,_ Mars thought. _If I teleport Ness' body away, it might call his psionic essence back. I need him in Magicant to help Lucas._

"You're not a very trusting person, you know," Dr. Andonuts said.

"Betrayal will do that," Mars said.

"Now, I would appreciate it if we ended this charade. Face me in your true form, 'Mars'."

Mars' heart skipped a beat.

"You don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"Oh, but I do," Dr. Andonuts said with a chuckle. "Your disguise isn't half as good as you think it is. Everything about your body screams 'fake'."

"…"

"Aw, come on," Dr. Andonuts said. "I'll even show you my true form if you show me yours."

Mars looked into Dr. Andonuts' eyes. Was the scientist bluffing? Too bad his mind shield prevented Mars from reading his thoughts.

"Now _that_ got your attention," Dr. Andonuts said. "What do you say?"

"Polymorph self," Mars whispered.

Instead of changing into another species of animal, he turned into a different human.

A human named Diana Carpainter.

(ILH)

"Dimension door," Diana whispered, pulling an enchanted bow out of extradimensional space. "Are you happy now, Dr. Andonuts?"

Even though Diana kept the same brain whenever she polymorphed, she never felt quite the same once she switched forms. As Mars, she had been angry at Dr. Andonuts. As Diana, she was just sad. Sad and weary.

"See, was that so hard?" Dr. Andonuts asked in a patronizing tone.

 _So he doesn't know about my true form,_ Diana thought. _I almost wish that he did._

"Are you ready to show me who _you_ really are?" Diana asked. "Or did you play me for a fool?"

"Do you really want me to reveal it? I'm telling you now, my true self is a little… insane."

One look at Dr. Andonuts' smile told Diana that he was dead serious.

"Yes," Diana said. "It's important to face the truth, even if it's unpleasant."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Dr. Andonuts smirked. "Polymorph self."

Just like Diana, Dr. Andonuts turned into a different person rather than another species of animal. This person possessed sleek, black hair, charcoal eyes, and a smile so creepy that Diana didn't doubt his insanity for a second.

"No…" Diana said. "Please tell me that this isn't you."

"I was surprised that you didn't figure it out by now," the man said. "Nice to meet you again, Diana. The name's Pan Lorune, in case you forgot."

The last sentence could only be a cruel joke. Diana would _never_ forget Morgan's brother. In another form, she would be stiff and curt with him. In this form, she barely bit back her tears.

"Long time no see," Pan said. "But it really hasn't been that long since I talked to you in this form, hmm?"

Great. So he knew about _that,_ too.

"Pan," Diana said. "What happened to you?"

Pan laughed, walking around in circles.

"And here I was thinking that you had forgotten me!" he said. "I do appreciate how you care about me, Diana. But that wasn't enough." His voice dropped to a whisper. "It never has been."

In her mind, Diana saw herself talking with Pan two years ago on Ceres. They met each other through Minerva's friendship with Morgan, and they became friends themselves almost instantly. Diana would put up with Pan's pranks and gibes while Pan accepted Diana despite her past. They were a pair of outcasts that needed each other.

"You could have come to me," Diana said. "I could have helped you… Trust me, Pan. I know how you must have felt after the bombs blew up Aphrodite. Sorrow unlike anything else that you've ever experienced. But I felt the same way when I escaped from cultism."

"I should have come to you," Pan whispered. "But it's too late, Diana. I am Dr. Andonuts, remember? I created the bombs that destroyed my planet. And while Morgan killed your father for you, I knew that nobody could kill Minerva. Easier to fade away into oblivion, no?"

"Pan, I know _exactly how you feel,_ " Diana said. "Listen to me! If we work together, we can save you. You accepted me when I had nobody. Please, let me give something back."

"So different from your earlier response," Pan said, wrinkling his nose. "Even with the same brain, you'd kill me without remorse in a different body. I think that makes us all insane."

A chill ran down Diana's spine. She wanted to deny Pan's words, but she had tried to come to grips with that subject before. Her actions changed drastically depending on the role that she set for herself. As an ex-cultist trying to do make up for all of her mistakes, she would balk at attacking Pan Lorune. But what about as Mars the bounty hunter?

"I think I've talked enough," Pan said. "I always wanted to fight you, Diana. You were so strong, even if you never flaunted your strength. I figured that maybe if I could learn something from you, I could stand up to my family."

"And…?" Diana asked.

"And that feeling hasn't gone away."

Diana leapt out of the way as fire sprouted from beneath the ground, singeing her clothes.

"Dr. Andonuts told you that I was insane," Pan shouted. "Perhaps you should have listened!"

Diana nocked arrows into her bow and fired in rapid succession. Each one hit Pan Lorune, who didn't even bother to react.

"Yes, yes, YES!" Pan shouted. "Fight me, Diana! Don't hold back, or I might have to kill that Ness boy whom you're so psyching fond of."

Diana's heart weighed like a brick in her chest as she fired the next round of arrows. She still pictured Pan Lorune smiling and joking with her. Nobody that Diana knew could ever imitate his charisma. To see him reduced to this…

Diana tightened her grip on the bow. Better to give him what he wanted.

She added balls of ectoplasm to her next arrows, which exploded and engulfed Pan when the arrows hit. He couldn't move around nearly as well with his whole body covered in the goo.

"Is that really all you've got?" Pan asked. "I could use more powerful psionics in my sleep!"

"And I'm still winning," Diana said, firing off another arrow. "What does that say about the effectiveness of your psionics?"

"Heh," Pan said, grinning from ear to ear. "Is _this_ what strength is? I always thought that getting the strongest power would allow me to beat anyone."

Molten rock rained from the sky, multiple pieces catching Diana on the head.

"Lifeup," Diana whispered. "It takes more power for you to harm me than it does for me to heal myself. That gives me strength over you."

"Interesting…" Pan said.

"And I blocked your fancy mind-controlling powers with my psionic aura," Diana said. "So you never really had that strength in the first place. Psionics are better at negating psionics than anything else."

"But what if you want the strength to kill someone?" Pan asked. "How would you do that?"

"Polymorph self," Diana whispered, changing into a new form.

The next second, Diana bounded towards Pan Lorune on all fours.

She was a wolf.

She was the huntress.

Pan shot a bolt of ice at Diana, but she shrugged it off. She couldn't use psionics to heal herself in the form of a non-humanoid animal, but her aura could easily resist the attack. She pounced on Pan and bit his leg, dragging him to the ground. She bounded on top of him, pinning his arms to the ground with her paws.

 _"That is how I kill a psion,"_ Diana transmitted.

Pan Lorune laughed. He continued laughing well past the point where he should have. After a couple minutes passed, Diana wondered how long he could keep the laughter going before passing out.

"You beat me so easily," Pan said, "And by using hardly any psionics, too. Thank you for the education, huntress."

Diana polymorphed back into a human, still pinning Pan down with her arms.

"You can let me go," Pan said. "I won't attack you anymore. Or you can kill me, if you want to end my pathetic existence. I don't really mind either way."

Diana gritted her teeth. He _knew_ that would get to her. She wanted to beat some sense into him, but she learned two years ago that hasty violence usually lead to regrets.

"How about this?" Pan said. "You beat the shit out of me while hardly breaking a sweat. You might even fight better than your sister, even if your psionics are weaker. Stand up to Lucas. Prove to him that there's something other than mechanical optimization that gives people strength."

"Remove your mind shield so that I can see where he is."

The barrier around Pan's thoughts vanished. Diana turned on her PSI vision. She nearly barfed from the overwhelming despair in Pan's cognitive essence. Even in her worst moments, Diana always had hope to keep her company. Looking into Pan's deepest thoughts, she found no trace of that emotion. Pan expected to rot away in oblivion and didn't even consider the possible alternatives.

"If you're done gawking at my depressing mental map, would you kindly get off of me?"

Diana picked up knowledge of Lucas' location from Pan's thoughts. Apparently, he and Morgan had been keeping close tabs on the savant.

Diana turned off her PSI vision and released Pan. She stood up, looking back at Ness' unconscious body. So much pain in this world. Was Pan right to give up on hope?

"I'll help you," Diana said, turning back to Pan. "Psych it, I will! After I'm done with Lucas, we'll both get you back."

"It's too late," Pan whispered, shaking his sore wrists. "Some wounds will never heal. I am a weak man in more ways than one. You can stand up and fight even after your past and your father. Me? All I'm good for is moaning and complaining as I fade away."

"We can save you," Diana insisted.

"Don't waste the effort," Pan said. "Please, take care of Jeff for me. I do love him, even if I never really was a father to him. He needs someone in his life too, and there's still hope left for him." Pan grabbed Diana's arm. "Please, promise me that you'll at least try to take care of him."

"I… will," Diana said.

Pan's expression softened. In that moment, Diana could almost see him as the man who joked and laughed and befriended rather than the hollow husk that he had become.

"Thanks," Pan said. "I know that you'll see it through. You always had the better parts of me. Teleport."

Pan Lorune vanished from sight. Diana turned on her PSI vision and looked at Ness. His psionic essence was still in Magicant.

"Refraction," Diana whispered.

A psionic hemisphere engulfed Ness' sleeping body. Any light that touched the hemisphere would be altered so that it wouldn't hit Ness… essentially making him invisible.

With that done, Diana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was time to finish what she should have done a long time ago.

"Teleport," she whispered, picturing Lucas' location in her mind.

* * *

 **So, In case it isn't clear:**

 **-Pan Lorune = cloaked figure in the chimera labs in ch. 6**

 **-Lucas turned around to see Diana teleporting in.**

 **See you guys next week! :)**


	18. Chapter 17: The Third Knife

**Happy Friday, everyone! :D Well... I'm actually writing this on Thursday to procrastinate finishing my research paper (I'm such a responsible student), so happy Thursday? Maybe? xD**

 **Anyways, this is the penultimate chapter of part 1 and wraps up a lot of the conflict on Vulcan (ch. 18 will be a Jeff PoV... yeah, he's still in the story), so this is sort of the climax of part one. Now that I say that, it sounds super lame because this chapter isn't that great. D: But if it's not exciting, there has to be something special about it... and it's probably the most confusing chapter of the arc just because how how much psionics-lingo flies around. Quick refresher:**

 **-psionic savant: Thing that Lucas is. Very OP at psionics/fighting, pretty much incapable of anything else (planning, emotion, memory, learning, ect.)**

 **-cognitive realm: Also called the psionic realm. It's a parallel plane to the physical realm where psionics comes from, and starmen primarily sense in this realm rather than the physcial one.**

 **-cognitive (psionic) spirit: Someone's essence in the cognitive realm that exists parallel to their physical body. Also called the cognitive essence or psionic essence. It needs to be present for the brain to function, so when it wanders away (Ness going to Lucas' Magicant), the brain stops working.**

 **Yeah, sorry for all of the technical info and stuff. I'm trying to cut down on all of the confusing psionic power thingies in later parts of the fic.**

 **A note about the end of the chapter... it's a little bit of a cliffhanger, but we're not going back to the Vulcan part of the story until June (because the Jeff PoV next chapter and the four interludes between then), so I'm telling you now that the answer/explanation for the thing at the end really isn't that exciting and is pretty intuitive. Just take it at face value. :)**

 **Phew, that was a long AN. Onto the review responses!**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Yep, Diana does kick a lot of ass in this fic. :) She actually came up as a Mary-Sue on an online test that I took even despite the whole "Killing hundreds of innocents as part of a cult" thing. Honestly, I didn't really want "Mars" to be in the story but it just wouldn't make sense for Diana to kind of trek around in her regular body since she's a wanted criminal and all. But yes, everyone wears masks. Well... a lot of people do (Minerva, Diana, Ana, Dr. Andonuts...). Yeah, I've found that "good" guys doing bad things is more realistic than "bad" guys doing good things. The more that I learn about World War II, the more that I realize how destructive, discriminatory, and murderous the Allied forces were. It's just that the fascists were obviously worse, so people don't tend to remember all of the bad things that the democracies did. Heh, backstories. :) Only a little bit of that in this chapter.

 **PSIBoy:** Yeah, I don't think that Fassad being a remorseless killer was a surprise to anyone. After Mother 3, nobody trusts that guy, and for a good reason. Oh yeah, Claus knows that Lucas' hate is justified. More on the force and guilt tripping thing in the next set of interludes. But it honestly makes me really happy that you see how poorly Claus treated Lucas even from just a few details. :) Yeah, a lot of the stuff that Claus did was not okay. Yeah, Fassad basically exists to instill discontent and turn people against each other. Just like... nah, I'm going to leave politics out of this. Crazy election cycle for US presidency, though. O.O Yeah, I kinda just slapped Mars in because it wouldn't make sense for Diana to really show herself, so I didn't add many clues. Yeah, I tend to find ways to make Diana enter in a memorable way and nobody else haha. Oh hey, Diana's one of my favorite characters too, so I'm glad that you like her. :)

Yeah, these "Fragemented memories" are harder to get through because they're longer, less mysterious, and not super well done. I would probably take them out if I were really serious about this story. Well, it's not that Diana couldn't have contributed to the plot, it's that she would have contributed too much to the plot because of her OP fighting skills. If she's constantly in the story then there's like no struggle for the protags. I need to use her sparingly (and there is a reason in the story why she doesn't appear often). Ah, I'm glad that you liked it! See you later! :D

 **DarkFoxKit:** Haha. Now you know what it's like for your readers... except for me when I read your stories. I honestly don't care about cliffhangers much. In all seriousness, though, I do try to write cliffhangers only if they naturally go along with a good conclusion to a chapter. Like... last chapter I could have ended it when it it looked like Diana pinned Pan Lorune/Andonuts down and been like "Is she gunna kill him?" But a cliffhanger like that wouldn't really go anywhere, so why bother? Yep, it was only a matter of time before Diana popped back up. ;) And as you'll see, Fassad isn't entirely to blame for all of the killings...

Well, being smart and knowing how to use the system against you is a kind of OP, just like how Diana took out Pan Lorune with very little psionics. And I do explain some things, but I'm not sure if they're the things that you wanted explained. We'll see, I guess. :)

 **crabby Tomato:** Yep, that's the video. :) "I think there's no lie a good enough actor cannot impose on vulnerable enough people." True, true. It makes me think of a certain presidential candidate in a certain country that shall go unnamed. Yes, spot the deranged psychopath is too easy indeed. xD Although to be fair, a lot of his accusations about Claus were kinda true. We'll see more of that during the interludes. Yeah, for some reason making Diana really complex comes naturally to me. I dunno, I guess I just connect with the kind of character that's so op that they have a different perspective of the world.

Yup, Dr. Andonuts is actually Jeff's father, so Jeff and Ninten are second cousins. And yep, that "ugly" encounter between Diana and Lucas is more than half the focus of this chapter (the other part is Ana PoV). Happy Birthday, Mother 3! :D ...I would say that Nintendo should release it on the Wii U for NA/EU, but I know that they probably never will. D: Even though it's free money since they don't need to pay for a translation or anything and it's already on the Japan virtual console. Speaking of which, could we please get Xenoblade Chronicles on virtual console for NA? Like, seriously, used copies are so rare that it's not really viable to get a copy that way. But enough ranting. See you later! :)

* * *

 _What concerns me more than my creation of life is someone else's creation of life. The process is simple, even if it lacks versatility. Pretty much anyone could replicate it, if they have the ability to see and manipulate the psionic realm. While most people can't mess with psionic ghosts in any way, there are a couple who can._

 _The most notable one being Minerva Carpainter._

 _I have evidence that President Carpainter somehow got a hold of my research and resurrected someone in the same way that I did. The only difference was that she used an essence that didn't belong to the corpse. If you prefer it in religious terms, she basically stuffed a soul into a body that wasn't theirs._

 _And her data shows that the cognitive essence rather than the physical brain takes control of the body. The foreign soul trumps the native mind. It's now possible to basically live in someone else's body after death._

 _That's psyching terrifying._

* * *

Ana gasped in pain as she appeared back in the city's barracks. But even that couldn't compare to the guilt of leaving Claus behind. Ana stumbled into her room after crashing into the doorframe twice, hardly feeling the pain.

"Lifeup," she muttered, healing the wounds that Lucas gave her.

Ana walked up to her bed, blinking when she saw Ninten sleeping on it. The lazy boy didn't even bother to get under the sheets… almost like he passed out there.

 _Wait a second._

"Healing," Ana whispered, augmenting the power to give it enough strength to bring someone back from unconsciousness.

Ninten sprang back to life, jumping up and looking around the room with frantic eyes.

"Mars!" he shouted. "I don't know what you did, but I'm going to beat the-" Ninten locked eyes with Ana. "Oh, hey Ann. I…" Ninten blushed.

"We're back at the barracks," Ana said. "And don't bother getting embarrassed about your aggression. Remember the time when I clunked you on the head so hard that you got a concussion?"

"Eh, that memory's a little hazy from the concussion that you gave me," Ninten said. "So I guess he teleported me back here after he knocked me out."

"Mars?"

"Yeah. He made Ness fall asleep and he knocked me out. I just wonder why he didn't do it earlier."

"And why knock you out first if he just wanted to teleport you back here?" Ana asked. "He probably knows that you can't teleport back."

"Huh," Ninten said. "Maybe it wasn't him, then." His eyes narrowed. "Still, I think that Ness could be in danger."

 _Danger…_ Ana thought, the word sending an arrow through her heart. _Claus._

"Everything all right, Ann?" Ninten asked. "I know that you're perfect and all, but someone who didn't know that could have mistaken that expression of yours for anger."

"I left Claus to die," she whispered, clenching her hands into fists. "The person who murdered all of those people is more powerful than you can imagine. He slaughtered most of the psions who tried to fight him. He wouldn't let me get to Claus, so I teleported and left him behind. Why did I _do_ that?"

"I'm sure that Claus understood," Ninten said without missing abeat, "And I'm sure that he would have wanted you to live rather than throwing your life away by trying to save him."

Ana nodded, biting back tears. She was a warrior, and warriors didn't cry in front of the people they were supposed to protect.

"Ann," Ninten said. "I hope that it's not a jerk move to ask this, but…"

 _This'll be good,_ Ana thought wryly.

"Would you mind teleporting me over to where I got knocked out?" Ninten asked. "I want to see if Ness is okay."

"Oh, that's it?" Ana asked. "Of course. I'll come with you."

Ninten breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was just worried that you would get mad if I interrupted you during this emotional moment."

For some reason, Ninten's words bugged Ana. Emotional? She had done her best not to let her emotions control her.

"Ness is my boyfriend," Ana said. "Of course I'll go with you to look for him. What else am I going to do? Sure, I still feel like a terrible person for leaving Claus behind, but I can't do anything about that now."

"I'm amazed at how quickly you see that," Ninten said. "After killing Boras, it took me days of weeping to get some perspective. You can ask Claus abou-" Ninten slapped a hand over his mouth.

Ana smiled to cover up her nausea. Ninten didn't understand that she wasn't quick at dealing with her emotions. She just chose to bottle them up and hope that they didn't explode. True, it would probably come back to bite her in the ass, but better that than suffering a breakdown now. If she went into hysterics while Ness was in danger…

 _Although,_ A voice in Ana's mind said, _It's not like you can learn to love him. Maybe it would be better if he died so that you wouldn't have to worry about it._

Ana gritted her teeth. Where did those thoughts _come_ from?

"How about I just read your mind, all right?" Ana said. "That way, I can see where I need to teleport us to."

"Go ahead," he said.

Ana activated mind-reading psionics and scanned Ninten's brain. She mostly focused on getting a picture of the place where Ninten had gotten knocked out, but she saw some of the other thoughts at the front of his mind. He was concerned about Ana and more concerned about Ness. Normal enough. He liked Ana as a friend and wasn't sure if his feelings went any deeper than that. That would be awkward enough if he _didn't_ have a girlfriend.

But what surprised Ana most is that he didn't blame her at all for Claus' death. Sure, he felt a heavy sorrow that he didn't show on the outside, but he didn't try to make that anyone's fault. Ana picked up on more thoughts, memories of him and Claus trekking through the mines with smiles on their faces.

How could he be so sad about losing his friend yet not feel any anger at all?

"You almost done?" Ninten asked.

"Er… yeah. Just gimme a sec." Ana shut off her telepathy psionics and grabbed Ninten's hand. "Teleport."

The world faded out of existence. After a few seconds, she appeared in a stretch of barren land indistinguishable from the rest. Had she teleported to the right place? Since everything looked so similar, a small error in either Ninten's memory or her telepathy could lead them far astray. Ana looked around for signs of Mars or Ness.

Her psionic senses alerted her before her physical senses did. She whipped around, her eyes locking onto the psion that she now faced. Her heart sunk into her stomach when she realized that the psion wasn't Ness or Mars, and it descended even further when she identified the psion as someone she knew.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Morgan Lorune said, her icy eyes paired with a smile so false that it looked like a stain on her face.

* * *

Lucas' knees pinned down Claus' arms, preventing Claus from getting a look at what caught his brother's attention. Claus heard an arrow whiz through the air. Lucas leaned to the right and the arrow grazed past his side. Claus looked at the projectile as it flew over his head. The arrow was made of ectoplasm, not stone and wood.

The archer crafted that arrow with psionics.

In the split-second that Lucas leaned to the right, Claus freed his left hand and socked Lucas in the side… Or at least he _tried_ to. A plate of armor appeared to block Claus' punch right before it would have connected with Lucas' body. Claus swore, shaking his hand in pain.

Lucas drove his stained glass sword through Claus' chest. Luckily, Claus' training as a psychic warrior gave him both specialized psionic powers and a stronger psionic aura that he used to survive the attack. Lucas' sword hummed furiously, its color changing to blood red.

Diana Carpainter appeared right next to Claus, wielding a shortsword in either hand. She lashed out at Lucas, forcing the masked man away from Claus.

"Glad to see that you're still alive," Diana said, parrying an attack aimed for Claus.

Even though her voice carried the urgency of their situation, Claus didn't doubt the sincerity in her words. Funny, how an ex-cultist mass murderer cared more about him than most of the "honorable" psions on Ceres. Claus leapt to his feet, brandishing his sword.

Lucas and Diana exchanged blows, although Lucas' sword struck true far more often than Diana's weapons. Still, Claus couldn't help but picture Diana as a titan on the level of his brother. Nobody else had been more than a momentary distraction for the masked man. The two darted around faster than Claus could keep up with, their blades becoming a blur. Lucas' sword made a high-pitched noise whenever it connected with Diana's ectoplasmic blades, almost as if it were screaming.

After what felt like an eternity, Diana leapt back next to Claus, panting heavily. She bled from a dozen wounds, a sure sign that her aura wouldn't protect her for much longer. Lucas hesitated before taking a step forward. Did something inside of him still try to resist?

"Lifeup," Diana whispered, her wounds disappearing. "Damn, he's tough."

Lucas took another step forward. This slow advancement provided a respite from Lucas' overwhelming pressure on the battlefield.

"We need to get out of here," Claus said.

"I'll teleport you out," Diana said. "I need to kill him. I promised Minerva that I'd take him out."

Lucas took another step forward, his visible eye showing unmistakable sorrow.

"You can't win on your own," Claus hissed.

"Maybe not," Diana said, "But I could never live with myself if I didn't try."

 _Thud._ Lucas' next step shook the earth.

"I'll fight with you," Claus said. "But we need to work together. Lucas can take on anyone alone, but Ana and I managed to throw him off when we attacked him at the same time."

 _Thud._ Cracks appeared under Lucas' foot as he took the next step forward.

"So much power…" Diana said, squinting her eyes. "It's blinding my PSI vision. I can't use it to predict his moves. All right, let's put this _thing_ out of its misery."

Lucas pointed his sword at Diana. Its tip shone with the fullest red Claus had ever seen.

"Lucas isn't a 'thing'," Claus said. "And I told him that I don't want to kill anyone. We'll knock him out."

"And then what?" Diana asked, raising her swords as Lucas came closer. "What do we do with a psionic savant more dangerous than anything humanity has ever faced?"

"We'll find a way," Claus said. "I am not killing my brother."

Diana raised an eyebrow, asking the question of how Claus could go from making Lucas' death his life goal to vouching for Lucas' safety in such a short amount of time. She should know. She did something similar when she broke away from the cultists.

"C-" Lucas said, the word coming out as a groan. "Claus. Pull knife. Please."

"Lucas!" Claus said. "Are you back to normal? What knife?"

The next second, Lucas' dropped his pained expression and grinned, twirling his sword around as he walked towards Claus. His steps flowed naturally; his muscles relaxed.

"Well, well," Lucas said in a lower tone of voice. "The pipsqueak had more fight in him than I thought."

"Me?" Claus asked.

"He means Lucas," Diana said. "Someone else is controlling his body. My PSI vision is so blurry that I can't say more than that."

"It doesn't matter," Lucas said, chuckling to himself. "Man, this is even _better_ than getting my own body back. I wonder if Minerva knew about this."

"Fassad," Diana said, her eyes narrowing.

Fassad? Was he the same 'Fassad' whom the pigmasks always referred to when justifying their invasion of Tazmily? Claus could only assume so.

"I should have tried to hijack his whole body earlier instead of letting his blank mind do the work," Lucas said. "But regardless… I don't really care about either of you. I'm not a cruel person. Go and teleport away; we'll probably never see each other again."

"I don't trust you," Diana said.

"I don't trust _you,_ Ms. Vigilante Justice, but I'm not trying to stand in your way. Don't stand in mine."

"I'm getting Lucas back," Claus whispered. "I don't care who you are or what you do, I'M GETTING MY BROTHER BACK!"

"Aw," Lucas said. "Now isn't that sweet? But I don't think that your brother really wants to have _you_ back. I mean, who would?"

"Shut it!" Claus shouted. "You're going down, freak show!"

"Do you really think that you can take me in this body?" Lucas asked. "Don't be an idiot."

Claus heard a _twang_ next to him. A barrier appeared over Lucas' chest right before Diana's arrow was about to pierce him.

"I'm with Claus," Diana said, nocking another arrow. "When I escaped from my father's cult, I promised myself that I would put more faith into my own judgment." Diana's eyes narrowed. "And you carry a sadistic nature that I can't quite put into words."

"So we have two idiots, then," Lucas said, snarling like a wolf. "Before I make you wish that you had never been born, remember that I gave you a peaceful way out of this."

* * *

It took every ounce of willpower for Ana not to blast Morgan with her strongest psychokinetic power.

"Call weapon," she hissed, an axe appearing in her hand.

"I don't think that we need to fight," Ninten said, motioning for Ana to back down.

"I don't trust that snake as far as I can throw her," Ana muttered.

"Well, with your muscles, you can probably throw her pretty far…"

"Are you just going to stand there and bicker like the children you are?" Morgan said. "And to think that my father wanted to make you emperor, Ninten. Too bad that you _murdered_ him."

"It's not murder if we're at war," Ana said, keeping her axe ready to strike.

"Oh really?" Morgan said, turning her gaze on Ana. "So it's okay to just go around and slaughter random people from the other side?"

"Killing an opponent in war is completely legal," Ana said. "So by definition it's not murder."

"Listen," Ninten said. "Could we at least _pretend_ like we don't hate each other?"

"You murdered my father!" Morgan shouted.

"She manipulated me and nearly killed Ness," Ana hissed.

"Ah," Morgan said, smiling at Ana. "Perhaps I should share the truth with Ninten just like I did with you."

Ana nearly vomited.

"Truth?" Ninten asked.

"Minerva blew up Aphrodite," Ana said, watching Morgan's smile slide off of her face. "Not the starmen."

"You _believe_ that?" Ninten asked, looking back and forth between Morgan and Ana. "I can see why you would, Morgan, but Ana… I didn't think that you were a conspiracy theorist."

"Please tell me that you've caught onto the fact that Minerva's a pathetic excuse for a human being," Ana said, her voice growing frigid.

"What?"

Morgan nodded in approval. Their shared hatred of Minerva was one of the few things keeping Ana from running up and slamming her axe into Morgan's chest.

"I still don't see why President Carpainter would blow up a planet," Ninten said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She accidentally released Giygas and tried to nuke the shit out of him," Morgan said with a bark of laughter. "Yet Giygas was the only one to survive that bombing on Aphrodite. It's funny, in a way…"

Tears streamed down Morgan's cheeks, looking out of place on her doll face with her doll smile.

"Are you… okay?" Ninten asked.

"When have _you_ ever cared about other people?" Morgan asked. "To answer your question, no. This is tearing me apart."

Ana snorted. What a drama queen.

"Ah, Miss Aniah," Morgan said, shaking her head at Ana. "You mock me, but what makes you any different? I know how you lock yourself away for hours at a time and cry rivers about your rich girl problems."

"You're clearly thinking about a different Ana," Ninten said. "Don't let her make you angry, Ann."

Ana didn't feel angry. She felt flat-out _terrified._ How did Morgan know…?

"Ann?"

"Hmm?" Ana said, looking up at Ninten. How could the concern in his eyes be so genuine? "I'm fine. Just wondering why your aunt is here if she doesn't want to capture you again."

"First cousin once removed," Morgan corrected. "As for why I'm here…"

Morgan teleported a small distance away. She reached into an area of empty space and her hand disappeared.

"What the…?" Ninten asked.

"A psionic enchantment," Ana said. "It essentially makes everything in a small area invisible. How did you make it so hard to detect, Morgan?"

"I didn't make this," Morgan said, a smile dancing on her lips.

She pulled her arm out of the invisible area. Her hand reappeared, dragging Ness' sleeping body along.

"Ness!" Ana said. Glaring at Morgan, "What did you do to him?"

"Me? Nothing. He fell asleep on his own accord. Ask Ninten if you don't believe me."

"She's telling the truth," Ninten whispered. To Morgan, "But what do you want with him?"

"He's interfering with my plans," Morgan said. "Trying to appeal to the monster's conscience. Amazingly, he's making progress."

Ana felt a chill run down her spine.

"The monster?" she asked. "You don't mean Lucas, do you?"

Ninten shot a look at her, his expression asking, _Who's Lucas?_

"Clever, clever," Morgan said, picking up Ness' limp body with both hands.

"You're manipulating Lucas," Ana growled. "All of those deaths back in the village are _your_ fault!"

"You so badly want to pin everything on me, don't you?" Morgan asked. "No, I'm not controlling him. I merely want to… prod him along. It's too bad that Diana Carpainter discovered him and brought you two along."

"Us two?" Ana asked. "I've never even met Diana."

"Use that pretty little head of yours," Morgan said, rolling her eyes. "The man who called himself Mars. Everyone knows that Diana can shapeshift, so she just turned into a different human. It's not her only alter ego, and she's not even the only one who does it. My brother messes around with his form quite a bit… Cowards, both of them. They wish to hide from their real skin."

"Still," Ninten said. "All of the deaths back in the village were a result of your 'prodding'. I guess we should have attacked you on sight."

"I started manipulating him after that tragedy," Morgan said. "Why do you think that I lead him into this wasteland where he can't hurt anyone else?"

 _Something about that doesn't make sense…_

"Then why do you care about Ness appealing to his conscience?" Ana asked. "If your goals are so pure, then wouldn't you _want_ Ness to succeed?"

"Nice catch," Ninten muttered. "I was almost staring to believe her there."

"It would be a pity to let Lucas' power go to waste," Morgan said, "Especially when I can use him to overthrow Minerva. Even if he can't kill her, he'll sow enough chaos for us empirists to step in."

"That's disgusting" Ninten said. "Why don't you stop and think about all of the pain that you'll cause?"

"Are you really just figuring this out about her?" Ana asked.

"I can hardly stomach either of you," Morgan said. "Think about how much your precious democracy hurts Vulcan! But I guess our cities that have a psyching 70% mortality rate before age three and an average life expectancy of 13 years don't matter to you, hmm? I'm simply regarding you Ceresians in the same, apathetic way."

An ectoplasmic knife appeared in Morgan's right hand. She held it up to Ness' throat.

"Stop!" Ninten shouted. "Please, Morgan, you don't have to kill Ness!"

"Take a step closer and he dies," Morgan said.

"Bitch," Ana muttered loud enough so that only Ninten could hear. "Of course we care about Vulcan. That's why we're here."

"Now," Morgan said, her doll-like smile popping pack onto her face. "I'm not going to kill Ness. Unlike your president Minerva, I value life and prefer to avoid death. I don't suppose that either of you know how Magicant works?"

"No," Ninten said. "I've only been there once, and I don't know how I even got there."

"Ah, _that_ was set up by yours truly," Morgan said. "Ness and I are both dreamers, just like you're a mystic. All dreamers can use psionics, since the connection between physical and psionic is what allows someone's psionic spirit to wander around without separating it permanently from the body. So if I cut off the neural connections to the psionic realm…" Morgan held her knife up to Ness' forehead. "No more psionics. No more visiting Magicant. No more corrupting Lucas and ruining my little plan."

Ana and Ninten stood in silence. Claus mentioned earlier that Lucas cut psions' neural connections to deactivate their auras, but to think about it happening to Ness… And especially when he was their only real chance of bringing Lucas back to his sanity!

"Don't look so horrified," Morgan said. "All of you psions are the same. You think that your powers are a curse and that you'd be happier living simple lives. Now there's a chance to get rid of your powers forever. Isn't that what you both would want for yourselves? I could give you the treatment as well, if you wish."

The hair on the back of Ana's neck stood up. Morgan was right about that; Ana fantasized several times per day about life without psionics. But she couldn't just give her powers up. Not when there were still people to protect.

"I'm fine, thanks," Ninten said.

"Same," Ana said. "That goes for Ness as well."

"So you've been lying to yourselves all this time," Morgan said. "You moan about the responsibility and the danger that comes with being a psion, yet now that you have the chance, you refuse to leave your powers behind. I will never compromise with democracy so long as it perpetrates these lies."

"Which means that you're going to remove Ness' powers," Ninten said, gritting his teeth.

"Exactly," Morgan said with another doll smile. "To make sure that you psions can't reconnect the neurons with healing PSI, I need to take Ness away and get some more precise tools. Wait here like good little kids until I come back with him, all right?"

"I swear," Ana whispered. "I'm going to blast her head off."

"There's no use," Ninten said. "She'll shrug it and kill Ness instead of just removing his psionics. As much as I hate to say this, we can't really stop her from taking away Ness' powers. Who knows? Maybe he'll be happier without having to worry about psionics ever again."

Ana could tell that Ninten wanted to make himself feel better about not helping, but she couldn't believe that lie for a second. Ness had come to Vulcan because he wanted to face his past. Psionics gave him the power to stand up and fight. Take that away, and Ness was just another kid caught in the undertow of life's merciless storms.

Even though they all complained about it, learning psionics _was_ a truly spectacular opportunity. Ana wouldn't let Morgan take that away from anyone.

But looking up to the knife at Ness' throat, she knew that Morgan would give him a red smile the second that she started to manifest a psionic power. Ana looked back and forth between Ninten's steely expression and Morgan's triumphant smile.

Once again, Ana was helpless to do anything to save Ness from Morgan's clutches. And this time, there would be nothing to draw Morgan away…

Ness' eyes shot open, interrupting Ana's train of thought.

Ana kept herself from expressing surprise, but Ninten's gasp gave it away. For a spilt second, Morgan looked confused. Then she looked down at Ness.

"Oh shit," she said. "Tele-"

"PK Rockin," Ness whispered, interrupting Morgan's manifestation.

Flashes of intense color bursted from Ness' hands, leaving an afterimage in Ana's vision. The ground rumbled as vibrations flowed through Ana's body, leaving her oddly satisfied. Colored hexagons threw Morgan several feet back. She tried to carry Ness with her, but she lost her grip and Ness tumbled to the ground by himself. He leapt to his feet and ran towards Ness and Ana.

"You little…" Morgan shouted. "PK Fire!"

Ness leapt through a wall of flames, his clothes coming out singed. Ana and Ninten sprinted towards him. Ana's heart pounded in her chest as adrenaline pushed her forward. Morgan fired more psychokinetic psionics at Ness, and he eventually collapsed to the ground. Even one of Morgan's powers probably did enough damage to take him out, but Ness' psionic stall kept him conscious for a few precious seconds after the initial hit.

Ana checked her psionic energy. Not good. If she teleported over to Ness now, she probably wouldn't have enough energy to teleport all of them back to the barracks. Morgan warped next to Ness' body and grabbed onto his arm.

"Entangling ectoplasm!" Ninten shouted, a ball of goo flying from his hand and splatting over Morgan's left arm. The momentum of the goo ball knocked her arm away, interrupting her teleportation psionics.

That gave Ana and Ninten just enough time to make it to Ness.

"Teleport!" Ana shouted, her voice cracking as she grabbed onto Ness' arm.

Ana breathed a sigh of relief as the world around her faded away. She stuck her tongue out at Morgan before the industrial wasteland around her faded completely.

For today, she and her remaining friends were safe.

* * *

Lucas leapt towards Claus, his sword flashing as it continued switching from one stained glass masterpiece to another. Claus brought his sword up to parry, but Lucas' sword disappeared right before it collided with Claus' blade. A feint. Lucas brought his other hand up to Claus' breastplate and summoned the sword so that it appeared directly inside of Claus' chest.

 _Damn,_ Claus thought. _Not even remotely fair._

Lucas leapt back, pulling the sword from Claus' body. A lance appeared in his hand, positioned so that it skewered Diana Carpainter instantly upon appearing.

"Nghh," Diana hissed. "I can't dodge if he can just summon a weapon _inside_ of my body."

The lance disappeared from Lucas' hands as he whipped around to look at Claus. Was that fear in his visible eye? Imagined or not, the emotion faded away as Lucas adopted a smirk.

"Go ahead and run!" the savant shouted. "It will be fun tracking you two down across the universe. _Nobody_ spits in my face and gets away with it."

"Diana!" Claus said. "We have to force him back."

Diana Carpainter nodded. She leapt forward, preemptively halting as another lance appeared inches away from her chest. She darted to the side and sprinted forward, blades whirling. Claus took that opening to move in behind Lucas, lowering all defenses as he barreled towards his brother. Lucas summoned his sword back into his hands and spun around, somehow managing to block both Claus' and Diana's attacks.

"You can't win!" Lucas shouted, his glee-filled eyes nearly making Claus puke. "I am invincible. Give up now and I'll grant you a quick death."

"And why exactly should I trust a traitor, Locria?" Diana asked.

Lucas laughed, the motion not even slowing him down.

"Somebody knows their history," he said. "Trust me, you wouldn't act any differently than I did, Ms. _Carpainter._ "

"I'm different from my father!" Diana shouted, lashing out with her dual blades.

"And your sister?" Lucas asked between bouts of dodging and parrying.

"We're both different from Minerva," Claus wheezed. "Because we're driving you out of my brother's body, whoever you are!"

 _"Let's not waste our oxygen, all right?"_ Diana asked telepathically.

Claus bit back a response. He didn't see how Diana using up her psionic power to communicate was any better.

"It's been so boring," Lucas said, wiggling out of Diana's attacks. "I've been trapped for millennia. I don't expect that you know how that feels. Can you really blame me for wanting to exercise my freedom? I even gave you a way out of this mess." Lucas sighed, stepping out of Claus' and Diana's attack range. "I guess some people just aren't the grateful types. You always want more, more, _more._ Stopping a mass murderer isn't enough; you have to kill him too. What if your sister applied that policy to you, Ms. Carpainter?"

Diana let out a low growl.

"Polymorph self," she whispered.

The next second, Diana appeared as an oversized wolf. She barred her teeth and barked at Lucas.

"Do you think that will save you?" Lucas asked. "A pair of fangs won't do you any better than swords or a bow."

 _"Claus,"_ Diana said telepathically. _"Something about him smells… off. My PSI vision's too blurry to tell, but I think that Fassad put something weird in his back. I don't know what it does, but be careful around it, all right?"_

Great. As if Claus didn't have enough to worry about already.

"Why don't you two just give up?" Lucas asked, shooting Claus and Diana a pitying gaze. "It's not like the boy's dead. I'm just controlling his body for now. Wouldn't you rather deal with me than a mindless murderer? Can't you accept a compromise?"

"The fact that you want to kill us tells me a lot about your morality," Claus said. "I don't want another massacre on my hands, thanks you very much."

 _"Enough talking,"_ Diana said. _"It's time to hunt."_

Diana bounded forward in her wolf form, barely giving Claus enough time to react. He ran alongside her, knowing that Lucas could only spear one of them at a time with his weapon-summoning shenanigans. Diana circled around to Lucas' back, dodging a tornado attacks from the possessed savant.

 _"Yeah,"_ she said. _"I definitely smell something here."_

Claus and Diana pressed in, trying to squeeze Lucas between the two of them. Lucas darted out of the way of each attack, slipping out to the side every time Diana and Claus got too close.

"Now I'm just playing with you," Lucas said with a grin. "I haven't had this much fun in millennia."

 _That's it,_ Claus thought. _That's the overconfidence that got all of the Ceresian psions killed._

 _Let's see what I can do with it._

"I'm going to get my brother back," Claus hissed, exaggerating his rage. "You're going down! Fassad, Locria, I don't even care what your name is."

With a roar, Claus charged forward, his sword extended in a clumsy position. A stained-glass lance appeared in Lucas' hands, impaling Claus. Lucas grinned as Claus froze in place, not needing to force his wide eyes or staggered breath. Psych it, getting impaled on psyching _hurt._

The lance vanished from Lucas' hands, replaced by his standard sword. He stepped forward, lazily raising his sword above Claus' head…

And he didn't notice Diana sprinting up behind him until it was too late.

Diana, still in the form of a wolf, bit down on Lucas' back. Lucas' expression turned from triumphant to confused and then from confused to terrified. He whipped around to face Diana, and Claus gasped at what he saw: Diana's bit a large hole through Lucas' clothing that revealed a knife embedded in his back. The knife looked exactly like Dynaldas or Amourus, except that the jewel in its hilt was sickly pale instead of vibrant red or pink.

An Amourus-esque knife inserted into another person…

Suddenly, everything made sense.

Lucas unleashed a whirlwind of attacks on Diana, who managed to avoid most of the strokes. Claus locked eyes with Diana. They both knew what they needed to do.

Just like with Ana earlier, Claus timed his movements perfectly with Diana's. Diana lashed out with her dual shortswords, forcing Lucas to parry with his blade. At the exact same time, Claus dove in and grabbed onto the hilt of the knife in Lucas' back. Lucas' body stiffened, but it was already too late. Claus pressed the jewel on the knife's hilt, and it filled up with bright yellow.

 _Yellow,_ Claus thought. _Not red like Dynaldas or pink like Amourus. Was this the third knife that Dr. Andonuts told me about?_

Claus pulled the knife out of Lucas' body. The psionic savant crumpled to the ground.

"The knife," Claus said, unable to keep himself form smiling at the absurdity. "Fassad controlled Lucas through a knife similar to Dynaldas or Amourus. All of our problems came from that tiny little blade. And now it's over."

Diana turned back into a human, looking at Lucas' body in concern.

"Right," she said. "Fassad's psionic essence is stored in that knife, just like how Queen Mary's is stored in Dynaldas. I hope that Ninten knows not to cut himself with that knife. If he did, Mary's cognitive essence would seep into his body and control him just like this."

How did she know what the knives could do? But then again, Diana always knew more than she should about pretty much everything.

"Come on," Claus said. "Cheer up a little! We just solved our murderer problem."

"Did we?" Diana asked. "We got Fassad out of Lucas' body. That still leaves us with a savant with no room in his brain for anything other than combat."

Claus blinked. That was right. Lucas wouldn't _ever_ turn back to normal, not after what Minerva did to him. Claus swore right then and there to murder the president of Ceres in the most graphic way possible.

"Claus?" came a weak voice from below.

Claus gasped, looking down at Lucas' now conscious body. His brother wore a thin smile on his face. That little detail unlocked all of the joy and relief that Claus had been holding back for two years. Claus sank to his knees, closing his eyes and whispering thanks to any deities who might be listening.

"You're not a mindless killer anymore," Claus said. "Someone like that wouldn't smile like you are right now."

"No," Lucas said, his voice as soft as velvet. "I'm not."

"You're back," Claus whispered, tears of joy pouring from his eyes.

"Well," Lucas said, looking away in shame. "Not entirely."


	19. Chapter 18: Escape from the Labs

**Hey, everyone! How's your Friday going? I get today off because it's a staff grading day (just high school things :P), so that's nice. I should probably decide today where I'm going to school next year... since the acceptance deadline is in two days. Whoopsies.**

 **But enough about my academic struggles. This chapter focuses on Jeff, and just like the last Jeff chapter I think that it's not all that great. But people seemed to like the last one, so... maybe this one will be all right?**

 **Also, I know basically nothing about genetic engineering/gene splicing (which is discussed during the chapter). If you try to complain about how certain characteristics granted to the animals in my story aren't feasible or logical, I'll just reply saying that it's more realistic than Mother 3. :)**

 **And this is also the last chapter of Part 3 of the Ceres trilogy. After this, we've got some interludes before we head on over to part 4. The interludes are going to be from the PoV of Morgan, Tracy, Lucas, and Poo (in order). Personally, I think that these interludes juggle a lot more weight than the last ones (because the characters are less familiar and the settings and events they discuss have a larger impact on the plot), so please make an attempt to read them, all right? :) I try my hardest not to make them filler (I mean, look at this story's length. Does it psyching need filler?).**

 **Again, that's** **Morgan, Tracy, Lucas, and Poo** **for the upcoming interludes.**

 **And with the cliffhanger last time, try not to overthink it. Lucas is basically free from being a savant and is basically free from Fassad's influence, but there are still a few nasty symptoms that he has to deal with.**

 **As always, reviews are more than welcome for this chapter! :)**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** No, the stab through the chest was real. It's just that with psionic aura and psionic stall, Claus was fine. Yep, yep, you'll find out today (or whenever you read this) what happened to Jeff. Hopefully this chapter won't disappoint you too much... hopefully. ._. Yeah, the three knives have a larger role later on in this story... probably in fic #3 (oh who am I kidding? _Definitely_ in fic # 3). Yeah, I'm not super worried about the Mary-Sue thingy. Oh really? You don't like OCs in general? Well, I guess I'm doing something right with this story. :) Not to brag, but I do see my OCs as one of my stronger areas of writing; it's just as interesting for me to write about Minerva, Diana, and Morgan as it is to write about the protags. To answer your question, the Locria thing does go along with what he's saying, but he has someone other than that in mind. Aw, thanks! :D To be honest, I'm just glad that I get any credit at all; most people probably aren't looking for a complex sci-fi/fantasy fic with dark undertones when they get onto this site haha.

 **DarkFoxKit:** Well, like I've said before, I honestly have no aversion to reading cliffhangers in other books/fics, so I'll have to trust you that it sucks. ;) Yeah, Sans' OPness is done really well. It gives him the aura of someone with incredible power yet it doesn't make him seem like his only role is to be a badass. Ah, thanks. I found a couple good transition points and decided to split the chapter up so that I could keep the fast pace going for longer. And I'm glad that you like Diana's wolf form; I think that it fits her quite well (especially considering how good she is at tracking people). See you! :)

 **A Fan:** And he doesn't get a role in the climax of the entire fic, either! :D ...I mean, he _sorta_ gets roles in both, as seen in this chapter, but it's pretty disconnected. One of the novels that I'm planning on writing actually doesn't have a strong magic presence. It's just hard to put Jeff in the middle of the action in this fic where both the other protags and the antagonists have OP psionics and could blast him to bits without a second thought. Yeah, I guess it does mean that I did a decent job describing everything. At least, that's what I'm going with. :) And yeah, that fight sequence does seem like it would be better if it were on screen. Yeah, the "not entirely" thing is actually pretty simple. He's basically free from his psionic savantism, but there are still a few lingering effects. And that's a very good question of why they don't destroy the knives. One of the main reasons is that they're excellent weapons against starmen, and they're also just valuable. See you later! :D

 **crabbyTomato:** Well, I'm glad that I was _*_ preoccupied* as well earlier today so that I can include respond to your review here. :) Yeah, summoning a weapon inside someone's body is scary, but usually PK powers are better at dealing raw damage. Lucas just resorts to that because he can't use those abilities. But yeah, it's nothing to sneeze at. Well, Diana did do a lot of the killing for her father, although she was basically brainwashed (socially, not psionically). Cults are scary, man. And yeah, there's almost no way that people are going to remember Diana for anything except for her role in the cult.

Yep, Morgan's not completely sane at this point. I've never played Dragon Age before, but yeah that's a lot of cognitive dissonance on Morgan's part. She's not exactly the most self-aware person in this fic. And yep, Ana's dealing with a lot of that stuff too. The thing about Ana's cognitive dissonance that scares her so much is that she knows how close she is to being someone heartless (like back in that interlude in the first Ceres where she hurt Ninten pretty badly). Yep, the knife is dangerous, but it's so valuable that nobody wants to destroy it. It helps that those knives are great for killing starmen. And as for Lucas... we'll see later. ;) Oh, that's good; I sometimes get worried about the interludes since they don't really advance the plot at all. And with my slower than usual updating schedule... it will be a while before we get back to the main story. And oh my gosh thank you for telling me about Xenoblade Chronicles. I think that I might go download it right after I update this chapter (rather than working on writing future chapters... haha).

* * *

 _Still, I forced myself to do more than sit around and worry about what I cannot control. I am a weak person, but even someone who's a husk of their former self can make an impact on this world._

 _Behold the machine that I created: the Phase Distorter._

 _It is a device that allows me to look into alternate dimensions._

 _I saw universes ravaged by psionic war, universes where Giygas is defeated by four kids with baseball bats and frying pans, and universes where psionics never even developed in humans._

 _In some of those alternate universes, I exist._

 _In some of those alternate universes, I'm happy._

 _This feeling… It must be the same bitterness that Morgan carries with her every second that she breathes._

 _The bitterness of knowing that happiness is real and that I could have achieved it in a different situation._

* * *

 **Note:** Well, that's it for the mad scientist's journal. You're probably wondering if the phase distorter still exists, and I don't know for sure. I checked around his lab and found nothing. I would ask him if I could, but… yeah. Maybe I'll track it down someday. Finding things has always been my specialty.

Until next time,

D. C; A. A.

* * *

Kumatora's PK Fire engulfed the cloaked man, provoking a shill scream. Jeff shuddered, picturing Mr. Agerate's expression under his cloak. What would it show? Anger? Remorse?

Insanity?

"Teleport," the cloaked man hissed, vanishing from sight.

"That was easy," Jeff said.

The pack of wolves in the hallway growled, baring their teeth at Kumatora. Jeff yelped, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn't know exactly what the wolves would do to him, but their hungry eyes told Jeff more than he wanted to know.

"Yeah," Kumatora muttered. "So easy. I bet you weren't scared at all."

One of the wolves leapt through the door at Kumatora. Jeff cried out in alarm, but Kumatora was already in motion. She met the wolf's charge slammed her palm into the its head with a sickening _crunch._ The wolf whimpered and collapsed to the ground.

"Offense Down Omega," Kumatora said. "Defense Down Omega."

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Jeff asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Kumatora said. "Amnesia, remember? Here they come. Don't let them bite you."

 _Trust me, I'm more than happy to stay as far away from them as I can,_ Jeff thought. _I think Morgan's brother even mentioned that their saliva is venomous._

Kumatora danced out of the way as a trio of wolves pounced at her, proceeding to take them out with a flurry of fists. She turned to the mass of wolves behind the door and shot a fireball that exploded across the entire width of the hallway. Jeff's relief turned to dismay as more wolves piled through the door, not even slowed down by their injuries.

"I think their genes are altered to give them fire resistance!" Jeff shouted.

"Thanks, Andonuts," Kumatora muttered, although Jeff couldn't tell whether she was referring to his last name or sarcastically comparing him to his father.

Kumatora took out the next pair of wolves, slamming her palms into their faces. She grappled a third wolf and twisted its head to the side. Jeff nearly vomited at the cracking noise that the wolf produced as it went limp.

"Are you secretly a Dalaamian martial artist?" Jeff asked.

Kumatora panted, bracing herself for the next group of wolves.

It soon became apparent that Kumatora couldn't take all of the wolves on, even with her suspiciously effective command of martial arts. She blasted the wolves with fireballs between rounds of bashing skulls, but she soon started to slow down. Jeff glanced around the room, not finding anything that he could use as a weapon. He could try to fight the wolves with his fists like Kumatora, but he knew that he would just get in the way.

Jeff yelped as a wolf ran past Kumatora and leapt at him, its hungry eyes pinning him down on the spot. The wolf lunged for Jeff's throat, but Kumatora batted it away at the last moment. Jeff flinched as the wolf went tumbling over to the corner of the room.

"Next time, at least _try_ to dodge," Kumatora said.

"R-Right," Jeff said, his heart pounding in his chest. "I'll do that."

 _So this is what a battle feels like,_ Jeff thought. _Horror and fear._

Jeff had never bought into the government propaganda about the glory of war, but he still wasn't prepared for the raw emotions that shut all else out during this life or death situation. All of his higher reasoning disappeared in an instant. Only him, Kumatora, and the wolves mattered. And Jeff's body urged him to do anything he could to stay away from the wolves.

Jeff had never pictured himself as a warrior, but he didn't think of himself as the type to tremble in corner whenever danger struck. But here he was, hoping against hope that the wolves wouldn't reach him. He couldn't feel disgusted at his own weakness or guilty for not helping Kumatora. Only survival mattered.

The wolves drove Kumatora further and further back. For every wolf that Kumatora knocked out, two more took its place. After another minute, Kumatora stood in front of Jeff, frantically knocking away wolves to defend both of them from the steel-crushing bites and venomous saliva of the beasts.

 _Most wolves would have given up by now,_ Jeff thought. _They should know that we're not worth the cost of half their pack. Another marvel of genetic engineering at work, I suppose._

"I guess it's over," Jeff said, a wolf's bit missing his face by inches. "I'm sorry that we never found your memory."

"No," Kumatora hissed, kicking a wolf into another one behind it. "I'm not dying today."

"We're done," Jeff said. "We can't possibly hope to-"

"I'm not dying today!"

Kumatora screamed and barred her teeth, as if she were holding up the entire weight of the world. A second later, a massive meteorite crashed through the ceiling and crushed the remaining wolves. Jeff shimmied up against the corner of the wall, coughing up dust. Where had that meteorite come from? Would more land nearby?

"It's called PK Starstorm," Kumatora whispered, sinking to her knees. "I remember… everything."

Kumatora collapsed to the ground.

* * *

Jeff looked at the two bodies next to him: Kumatora's and Tony's.

He knew that he only had the strength to carry one.

"I'm sorry, Tony," Jeff whispered. "I don't think that I can give you a proper burial. Kumatora deserves to live after she saved both of us."

Jeff hoisted Kumatora's limp body over his shoulder and walked around the meteorite. He took one last look at Tony's corpse before walking out into the hallway.

He couldn't help but interpret the look on Tony's face as displaying feelings of betrayal.

* * *

Carrying an unconscious body proved harder than Jeff had anticipated. After a minute, his shoulder ached so badly that he awkwardly shifted Kumatora's body over to the other shoulder. After another minute, _that_ shoulder hurt so badly that he tried cradling her like a baby. After yet another minute, his arms hurt so much that he hoisted her back over his shoulder. Rinse and repeat.

But every time Jeff stopped to readjust Kumatora's body, it became a little harder to get back moving. Jeff didn't even know where he was, really; he followed Kumatora's lead to get to the chamber with Tony's corpse and had only a vague idea of how to get back.

That room… Jeff gave himself a mental slap. He forgot about the journal that described the machines that sucked out psions' energy for power! Well, no use worrying about it now. A part of Jeff wanted to go back and retrieve it, but he couldn't put Kumatora's life at risk by keeping her here longer. He at least owed her that for saving his life.

So Jeff hoisted Kumatora's body over his shoulder one more time and walked off, hoping to stumble upon an exit.

* * *

After what felt like hours of walking, Jeff arrived in an open room that contained actual lab stations. Several rows of tables stretched out so far that Jeff figured that he probably wouldn't even be able to make out the far tables without his glasses. Animal carcasses lay at some stations, along with petri dishes that presumably contained bacteria. The whole place smelled rancid, and it didn't look like anyone had touched the place for weeks. Jeff spotted a small balcony to his right that he supposed allowed one scientist to oversee a large number of lesser scientists performing basic grunt work.

Needless to say, not the ideal scientific environment. Factories on Vulcan could learn a thing or two about mass production and oversight from the layout of the tables.

Jeff set Kumatora's body down on the floor. He just needed a minute or two to rest and he would be back on his feet. He recognized this room from earlier and had a general idea of where to go.

Footsteps sounded in the distance, cutting off Jeff's train of thought. As quickly as he could, Jeff grabbed Kumatora's body and bolted under a lab table.

"Do you think that they really went here?"

That Dalaamian accent… Jeff snuck a peek around the lab table. Poo and Paula walked into the room, looking around at the abandoned lab stations.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jeff asked, popping out from under the lab table.

"Jeff!" Paula exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"Where are Kumatora and Tony?" Poo asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I'm fine," Jeff said. "And I have Kumatora right here." He picked up Kumatora's body, straining his arms to carry her weight.

"And Tony?" Poo asked softly.

"Tony…"

The full implications of Tony's death only hit Jeff then. Ever since grade school, Tony and Jeff were rarely seen apart. The unlikely duo fostered off of a symbiotic relationship: Tony provided the fun and excitement while Jeff tempered Tony's blaze with caution and reason. The two almost always reached a happy medium, leaving Jeff with fond memories of everything between falling flat on his face while ice skating to working on a group project for school that involved making a diagram of a eukaryotic cell. Tony's friendship provided Jeff with the fun and care that his father had never bothered to give.

Now, all of that was gone.

Jeff started trembling. Why had he pushed Tony away during their time on Ceres to work on his stupid experiments with psionics-enhanced engineering? Why had he burrowed himself in his own little dorm room while Tony struggled with his classes? When Tony started to grow bitter and jaded about Mr. Agerate, was Jeff there to help him? No, he was wasting his time on his own problems that he didn't even remember anymore.

"Jeff," Paula said, her eyes growing wide. "Please don't say that you mean…"

"Why couldn't I have been there for him?" Jeff whispered. "I abandoned him when he needed me most."

"And…?" Paula said.

"And he's dead," Jeff whispered. "I'll never hear him laugh or see him smile again."

"Oh," Paula said, bringing her hands together in prayer. "Well, I'm sure that he's in a better place now. With all of the wonderful things that he did, I know that he'll end up in heaven."

"That's just what people say to soften the blow."

"Jeff…"

"Ah, forget it. Now I'm just making you feel bad too."

Tears poured down Jeff's cheeks. He tried to hold them back, but his attempts only moistened his eyes further.

"Jeff," Poo said, his voice soft yet stern. "Let's get Kumatora to safety, all right? We can worry about Tony later."

"Because he's not important enough?" Jeff asked.

"Because Kumatora _is_ important enough," Poo said. "Think about what would happen if you lost both of them."

"She just overchanneled," Jeff said. "She'll be out for a few days, but she doesn't need a doctor."

"I didn't mean it that way," Poo said. "This place isn't safe. Let's get out of here."

"Are you sure?" Jeff asked, walking up to Poo and Paula. "I think that Kumatora eliminated most of the threat. Have either of you heard of a power called PK Starstorm?"

"No," Paula said. Turning to Poo, "What about you?"

"Hmm," Poo said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Something's wrong."

"What do you mea-"

Poo's hand darted in front of Jeff's face, catching an ectoplasmic arrow out of the air. Poo held the arrow for a second, the arrowhead mere inches from Jeff's face. If Poo had reacted a moment later, Jeff wouldn't be alive right now. In another lightning-fast motion, Poo flung the arrow towards the balcony. Jeff heard someone cry out in pain.

"Yes, I _am_ sure that this place is dangerous," Poo said, a smirk dancing on his lips.

"Wha… How?" Jeff asked. "You just _grabbed_ an arrow that was aimed at me, threw it back, and hit the archer."

"Astute observation."

"How?" Jeff repeated.

"In Dalaam, we channel psionic energy into a force called Mu. Precognition is the primary advantage that Mu gives over basic psionics."

"So you knew that the arrow was going to be there before it actually was?" Paula asked. "That's incredible."

"I think we need to worry less about me and more about our little archer," Poo said. "He's not dead."

The cloaked figure teleported in front of Poo. He pulled the ectoplasmic arrow out of his chest, dropping it to the ground.

"I thought I had you there, Jeff," the cloaked figure said.

"You nearly killed me, Mr. Agerate," Jeff said. "And you _did_ kill Tony! Don't you remember what we talked about? How we almost became friends? Was any of that real?"

"What makes you so sure that this is Mr. Agerate?" Poo asked.

"Can't you tell by the voice?" Jeff asked.

"Voices are easy to manipulate," Paula whispered, a small flame appearing in her hand. "Remember how Mr. Agerate himself taught us about that in the psychokinetics unit?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Give me the girl," the cloaked man said. "If you do that, the rest of you may go free."

"And what exactly are you threatening us with?" Poo asked.

The cloaked man snapped and a mass of snakes slithered in through the hallways. They hissed at everyone except for the cloaked man.

"How do you feel about snakes, Prince of Dalaam?" the cloaked man asked.

Poo's face paled, although he didn't let his guard down.

"Why should we believe that you'll let us go if we give you Kumatora?" Jeff asked.

"It's either that or I kill all of you and take her for myself."

Jeff glanced at the exits. Snakes guarded each one. Jeff would bet his life that they were genetically programmed to kill.

Poo exchanged a long glance with Paula.

"Well?" the cloaked man asked.

Paula nodded at Poo.

"I'll distract her," Poo said. "You three run."

Paula yanked Jeff's arm as she took off towards one of the exits.

"PK Freeze!" the cloaked figure shouted.

"PSI Shield!" Paula countered, surrounding her and her allies in a shiny aura.

Ice encased Jeff's body, but it faded away upon making contact with Paula's PSI shield.

"PK Fire!" Paula shouted, roasting the snakes by one of the exits.

Just like the wolves, the snakes didn't look injured by the fire, and they responded by slithering towards Jeff and Paula.

Paula created a ring of fire around the snakes. While they could probably pass through without suffering crippling injuries, the snakes backed away from the fire and hissed at Paula, effectively letting themselves be trapped inside. Jeff looked back and saw the cloaked man attacking Poo with a spear. The Dalaamian Prince moved in on the cloaked man, forcing him back. In his current state, Poo would interrupt any teleportation psionics on the part of the cloaked man.

Paula and Jeff ran past the snakes trapped by Paula's ring of fire, surging through the exit to the room and appearing in another hallway.

"I can do this," Paula said in wonder. "With my powers, I can actually make a real difference. I can save a life." She turned to Jeff. "Do you need me to carry Kumatora?"

"No," Jeff said, his lungs burning from the run. "You need free hands for psionics. Keep running."

"Roger that," Paula said. "Let's get out of here as quickly as we can so that Poo doesn't have to stall for much longer."

 _Right,_ Jeff thought. _Our stupidity already cost us Tony's life. I don't want anyone else to suffer for this._

But, as Jeff was starting to realize, the desire to keep people safe didn't really mean much without the raw strength to fight off one's enemies.

* * *

Jeff and Paula ran out of the "abandoned" lab without meeting any more chimeras. After Jeff started demanding frequent stops, Paula insisted on carrying Kumatora. When Jeff objected with the same argument as before (that she needed her hands free to manifest psionics), Paula replied that she could drop Kumatora's body to manifest powers if she needed to. Considering how much Jeff was slowing her down, he didn't argue any more than that.

So Jeff's hands were free to fidget with his glasses as they walked back to the school. His mind wandered over to Poo. Jeff saw firsthand that the Prince of Dalaam could defend himself quite effectively, but he didn't know how Poo would fare up against Mr. Agerate and a group of genetically altered snakes. Jeff had wished for psionic powers since he was old enough to understand what they were, but his current desire to manifest useful powers came from his desperation. Walking away not knowing whether Poo would live or die was a hundred times worse than fighting with him.

…Or maybe Jeff's self-pity was getting the better of him. Either way, the Dalaamian Prince ruled Jeff's thoughts.

"Jeff," Paula said, interrupting his train of thought. "I'm sorry again about Tony. He didn't deserve to die so young. I know that you're not really religious, but can't you at least hope for his soul to go to heaven? I mean, it's not like it can hurt, right?"

"Sorry," Jeff muttered. "I just can't accept a heaven or a hell. My perception of the truth is more important than what makes me feel better."

"Oh," Paula said. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"No, I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier," Jeff said. "I don't know what I was thinking."

As Paula opened her mouth to reply, Kumatora's body twitched. A second later, Kumatora opened her eyes and tumbled off of Paula's shoulder, sprawling face-first on the ground.

"Psych, psych, _psych,_ " Kumatora muttered, standing up and dusting herself off. "Huh. That's the sun. Where the psych are we?" She glanced at Paula. "And where did you come from?"

"Me?" Paula asked. "Poo and I came to help you out. We escaped from the labs together."

"So where's Poo?" Kumatora asked.

"He held Mr. Agerate off while we ran," Jeff said. "I hope that he's okay."

"You two just _left_ him there?" Kumatora asked. "What the psych were you thinking?"

"He told us to run," Paula whispered, looking down at her feet.

"And so you did? Now he's probably dead… No." Kumatora scowled. "He's _worse_ than dead. I know exactly who the cloaked person was, and it's not Mr. Agerate."

"Who is it?" Jeff asked.

"Not telling. Maybe if keep her identity a secret then she'll spare herself the trouble of hunting you both down."

 _She?_ Jeff thought. _I suppose it could have been a woman…_

"Right before you fell unconscious, you said that you remembered everything," Jeff said. "Does that mean that you regained your memory?"

"I must have said that out loud, huh?" Kumatora asked. "Yeah. I got it back. I guess nearly dying brought broke down a couple of walls in my mind."

 _Can't you be more excited than that?_ Jeff wanted to ask.

"So… what do you remember?"

"I can't exactly tell you my whole life's story," Kumatora said. "Besides, it's not that interesting. And…" Kumatora barked a laugh. "Believe it or not, there are some parts of my life that I still don't remember."

"That's disappointing," Jeff said. "I guess we'll have to wait until you remember the rest."

"This is different," Kumatora said. "I've been missing the first ten to fifteen years of my life far before I got amnesia. I just remember waking up in a house on Aphrodite one day. I spent years living in an abandoned castle, not knowing where I came from or how I would fit in."

"What happened after that?" Jeff asked. "How did you get to Ceres?"

"Fought against the pigmasks on Aphrodite for a while… fascist bastards. Then Claus and his brother Lucas told me that Minerva Carpainter was going to nuke the shit out of Aphrodite-"

"Wait, WHAT?"

Jeff exchanged a glance with Paula, whose pale face betrayed the same shock that he felt.

"Yeah, try to imagine how it felt to _be_ there," Kumatora said. "So I escaped to Earth on a starship. I got captured in Dalaam, shipped over to Vulcan to be used as a human battery, escaped, and crash landed on Ceres. That's when you met me."

"And you said that your life wasn't interesting," Paula whispered.

"Eh," Kumatora said with a shrug. "I guess being one of the few to survive the genocide on Aphrodite does count for something."

"I still don't know if I can believe that," Jeff said. " _Minerva Carpainter_ dropped the bombs on Aphrodite?"

"Why would the starmen do it?" Kumatora asked. "If they had the tools, they would have nuked Earth by now." Her face darkened. "I've already wasted too much time talking to you. I need to go back and help Poo."

"No way," Jeff said. "We just got you out of there. You're not going back in."

"It's not your choice to make," Kumatora said, stepping up to and staring Jeff in the eye.

A chill ran down his spine.

"It could be dangerous," Paula whispered. "I mean… you just knocked yourself out by overchanneling, right? I don't think that you could really do much in your state anyways."

"I don't give a psych," Kumatora said. "I'm going back to help him. I'm not a hypocrite."

"Hypocrite?" Paula asked.

"Long story. One that I don't have time to tell."

"Kumatora," Jeff said. "Please, you can't! Don't you hate Poo anyways?"

"Not enough to leave him behind."

"This is suicide!" Jeff shouted. "We already lost Tony and maybe Poo. You can't throw your life away."

"Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?" Kumatora hissed. "Last I checked, you don't have the strength to stop me and Paula doesn't know any good powers to restrain me."

Kumatora turned around and walked back towards the laboratory. Jeff ran forward and grabbed her arm.

"Please," Jeff said. "Don't-"

Kumatora jerked her hand and sent Jeff flying back. He tumbled across the ground, eventually rolling to a halt. The feelings of betrayal hurt far more than the bruises that he had surely received.

"Don't you _ever_ touch me again!" Kumatora shouted, holding a flame in her hand and pointing it at Jeff. "Do you understand me?"

Jeff looked at Kumatora and saw the expression of a caged animal. The anger in her eyes only existed to cover up fear.

"I said, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

Kumatora's voice shook the earth. Jeff gasped for air, bringing himself to his feet. He looked into Kumatora's enraged eyes. Slowly, the anger in her expression turned to horror. The flame in her hand fizzled out.

"Oh no," Kumatora said. "Oh _psych_ no. Was that me? Did I hurt you?"

"Kumatora…" Jeff said. "Don't worry. Please, just stay with us. Paula's right; you're too weak to use psionics right now."

"No!" she shouted. "You need to stay away from me. These new memories are messing with my head. I guess I'll check up on Poo and work out the rest on my own. Goodbye, Jeff."

With a fake smile that didn't manage to cover up any of her fear, Kumatora turned back around. Jeff reached out, even though he knew that he couldn't stop her from leaving.

"Goodbye," she whispered, her voice shaking softly. "Teleport."

"No," Jeff whispered as Kumatora vanished from sight. "No! We could have helped you!"

"Jeff," Paula said, walking up to him. "Are you okay? That looked like it hurt."

"I'm fine," Jeff said. "But why wouldn't Kumatora let us help her?"

"I think…" Paula said. "I think she just doesn't think that anyone else really _can_ help her."

"That's crazy," Jeff said, shaking his head.

"I went through something similar," Paula said with a shrug. "I'm only now starting to see the consequences."

"Oh," Jeff said. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to offend you…"

"You're fine," Paula said. "And it's not about me anymore. Ninten really helped me out. I've never met someone who expects so much from themself and doesn't suffer from self-esteem issues. It taught me that I can still recognize my laundry list of shortcomings without beating myself up"

Paula smiled sincerely enough for Jeff to tell that she wasn't lying or fishing for pity.

"So what about you?" she asked. "Who do you have to rely on so that you don't turn into someone like Kumatora?"

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.

"Kumatora didn't want help with her problems because she didn't trust anyone's ability to help her. When her memories came flooding back, nobody could stop her from turning back into the person who she was, a person that she probably hates. I know that feeling all too well."

Paula followed the words with a bittersweet smile.

"If something happens to me, Ninten will help, even if he's only there in spirit," Paula said.

She looked Jeff straight in the eye.

"Who will be there for you?"

 **End of Part 3**


	20. Interlude: Morgan

**Hey, everyone! How are those AP tests coming along? They're sooooo much fun, am I right? :D**

 **Despite the sarcasm dripping from my tone (yeah, I don't actually think that AP tests are fun), I'm doing pretty well. I just need 4s on all of my AP exams, so there's not as much stress as previous years. I am tired, though. *Yawns***

 **So I don't know if you guys remember the interludes from last Ceres, but these chapters are flashbacks from non-PoV characters. This one is Morgan's (which you can hopefully tell from the title). Please please please actually read these; I know that they're not as pivotal to the plot, but they contain a lot of information about setting/characters that will hopefully make the story as a whole make more sense. Besides, I might need criticism on my flashback writing, so it would be nice to people actually reading this to tell me where I screw up.**

 **As always, reviews are very much appreciated. :) Hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter even if it's not part of a big plot arc! :)**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** I actually have no plans to give Jeff a love interest. I'm a big believer in deep emotional connection beyond romantic/familial love, so I try not to throw too many random pairings in there. Wait, you actually like Paula? I've had multiple people tell me that they hate the character haha. Thanks. :) I definitely try to make sure that my characters struggle (and sometimes fail entirely) to overcome their problems. Since many of my characters have really powerful supernatural abilities, I want to make sure that they're still relatable. There are going to be a total of 6 parts, 2 parts per fic. See you! :)

 **A Fan:** This is the 2nd fic, but each fic has 2 parts. So this is the end of part 3 of 6, and we're in the middle of fic 2 of 3. It's a little weird, I know. :P But Lord of the Rings did it and got away with it, so I figure that I can too (not that I want to replicate everything that Lord of the Rings does...). Nah, she's not like Voldemort. But you know the trope about the villain killing everyone who knows something about them. Kumatora wants to prevent that from happening to Jeff and Paula. Will it make a difference? Probably not, but Kumatora's logic has never been her strong point. (And yes, it's a shameless plot device to avoid revealing her identity) But talking is a free action! :D D&D is real life, right? (Was that what you were referring to?) Well, in Jeff's defense, he expected that the archer was dead since she got hit by her own arrow. But yeah, not super smart.

And while Jeff isn't super useful in combat, I'm not convinced that he really should be. For some characters, fighting isn't their forte. It's hard to justify Jeff being useful when he's a regular person in a room filled with psions. But I'll try to make him more impactful in other ways. Stabbing people with pointy weapons isn't the only path to power. :) And heat-resistant fur doesn't seem too out of the realm of possibilities for me... but maybe I'm just ignorant. :P And yes, Poo has a pretty good idea who this is. Hey, I do care about Jeff... a little. But yeah, his struggles are usually of the more internal/emotional nature since he doesn't really do well in combat. Kinda like Ness, actually, just with even less fighting.

 **DarkFoxKit:** Yeah, poor Jeff. :( It's gotta suck to sit on the sidelines like that. Yeah, I don't particularly envy any of the characters in my story... but being JEff would suck especially. Yep, Morgan's his aunt and Boras is his grandfather. He's descended from Emperor George just like Ninten is (yay for overused fantasy tropes). Yeah, see you later! :D

* * *

 **Two years ago:**

Morgan Lorune walked up to a glass box that was barely big enough to contain her body. Most people would have found it strange that a heavily guarded building such as this one would contain a glass booth with nothing inside of it.

Most people didn't know just how much psionics could do.

Morgan stepped inside of the box and closed her eyes. She pumped psionic energy into the booth, causing it to hum lightly. This process connected the glass box with another one, allowing for long-ranged communication between psions. Morgan singled out an identical booth back on Ceres as the one that she connected to. These telecommunicators could broadcast messages to any number of other telecommunicators, but Morgan wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with a friend.

After a minute, Morgan sensed an entity on the other end of the call communicate back. Even though Morgan's eyes were still closed, she could physically see the person on the other end. That was how these glass telecommunicators worked. If Morgan were to open her eyes, she would return back to the real world. So long as she kept her eyes closed, she could see, feel, and hear the person on the other end of the call as if they were right next to her.

It still amazed Morgan how well these devices worked. It took light over 2.5 million years to reach from Vulcan to Ceres, but this device allowed people on those two planets to converse without any lag. Just a few years earlier, Morgan's brother Pan used a lot of the same technology to create a portable telecommunicator, or portocom. How much more would human civilization grow in 100 years? Morgan wished that she would live long enough to see that.

With her eyes closed, Morgan started to make out the features of this "fake" world that she stood in. She stood on a beige floor that stretched for miles, eventually disappearing into the purple horizon. No furniture, plants, or animals. Just beige and purple. The psions who designed this area must have lacked creativity.

"Hey, Morgan!"

Morgan looked up from her thoughts. Megan Aniah stood in front of her, her posture open and outspoken as always.

"Everything went according to plan, just like I told you it would," Morgan said with a triumphant smile. "When Minerva puts me on a job, you know that I'll complete it."

"You can't even greet me before you start bragging?" Megan asked, rolling her eyes. "You need to tone it down, girl."

Morgan grinned. Despite the fact that they were both in their forties, Morgan and Megan conversed like teenagers. It made Morgan feel like she was recovering a part of life that she never got to experience.

"Don't you want to hear how I did it?" Morgan asked. "How I killed the greatest threat to universal safety in our lifetime?"

"Not really," Megan said. "I just care that he's gone. But since you're _dying_ to tell me… How did you manage to kill Apollo Carpainter, head of the Happy Happyist cult on Vulcan?"

"Ah, so glad that you asked!" Morgan said, winking at Megan. "Have you ever heard of Tanetane mushrooms?"

"Right," Megan said. "I assume you extracted poison from that specific patch discovered a while ago?"

Morgan scowled. Tanetane mushrooms possessed hallucinogenic properties (making them a fairly common street drug on Aphrodite), and her brother Pan alerted her a few months ago to a specific area where the mushrooms carried a different effect: they kill within minutes of being ingested.

"Of course I know about the mushrooms," Megan said. "My husband deals with pretty much every piece of data in the entire universe. He would not shut up about those mushrooms and how their biological properties didn't make sense and how their effects _should_ be preventable by psionics…"

Another trait that the mushrooms possessed was the inability to be prevented, cured, or even stalled by psionics. Needless to say, most of the scientific community kept their mouths closed so that they wouldn't spread tales of such a dangerous poison.

"Adam even hypothesized that those mushrooms were bred to be poisonous by the Osohe," Megan continued. Noting Morgan's scoff, "Yeah, he believes that aliens that inhabited Ceres, Vulcan, and Aphrodite less than 3000 years ago. I think it's bullshit."

"Minerva believes in the Osohe too," Morgan said. "They're both wackos, I guess."

"At least they're lovable wackos," Megan said. "Just like us, actually. But you should continue your story. You got your hands on the most powerful poison known to humankind. What then?"

"I couldn't get near enough to give him poisoned food myself," Morgan said. "At least, not without him sensing me and expecting foul play. I handed the poison off to one of the cultists who brings him food."

"But Carpainter could still read his or her mind," Megan said.

"Of course, of course. Even using someone who bears ill will towards Carpainter at all would provoke suspicion. Luckily, I planned a way around that."

"Like you always do," Megan muttered.

"I told my associate to poison the food and come back to me before giving it to Carpainter. When she did, I wiped her memories of poisoning the food and our meetings. She delivered the poisoned food to him, but she didn't _know_ that it was poisoned, so Carpainter couldn't read her mind to figure out the truth!"

"And you told your associate that you were going to wipe her memory before she agreed to help you, right?" Megan asked.

"Of course, Megan. She was more than willing to make that sacrifice."

"Well then," Megan said, cracking a smile. "I am legitimately impressed. You always figure out the best way to take people out quietly. What if Carpainter has a food taster, though?"

"He shouldn't," Morgan said. "Psions usually rely on their psionics to heal themselves if they ever get poisoned."

"I know that," Megan said. "But what if he does? Your plans don't usually leave holes, even ones as small as that."

"The poison from the Tanetane mushrooms takes several minutes to kill. It's tasteless and odorless. A food taster wouldn't be able to feel the effects until Carpainter already had ingested some."

"Heh. That's lucky."

"I think you mean calculated."

"Whatever." Megan rolled her eyes. "Well, I'll send Minerva the good news. Now that you're done with that, we should probably take care of your husband."

A sinking feeling entered Morgan's stomach.

"He did it _once,_ Megan."

"If he physically abused you once, he'll probably do it again," Megan said. "Domestic violence is inexcusable. I think it's long past time that we taught him a lesson."

"We?" Morgan asked. "He's _my_ problem. Besides, he can't hurt me so long as I'm on Ceres with you, or even if I'm here on Vulcan."

Megan's expression darkened.

"Why are you trying to avoid this?" she asked. "Do you still love him?"

"Still?" Morgan said. "I never loved him in the first place. My uncle is Coran Lorune, remember? He married me off to some random psion to secure an alliance. I'm trying to avoid this because I'm useful here. With Minerva's influence and my intelligence, we can tackle some real issues. My personal life is irrelevant."

"What about your children?" Megan asked. "Aren't you worried what kind of a father your husband is to them?"

Morgan paused. To be honest, she had barely given that a passing thought.

"I suppose that you're right," she said. "I'll deal with him soon… And I'll accept any help that you have to offer."

"That's the spirit," Megan said. "We'll take care of him in no time."

Morgan forced a nod. She knew that this issue tended to overwhelm people, tearing them apart by the seams. Domestic violence spanned across cultures and wasn't always limited to physical attacks. In almost all cases, it resulted in shattered lives.

So why did Morgan find it so hard to care?

"Right," Morgan said. "I… should get back to Vulcan. There are still a few things that I need to take care of. See you, Megan."

"Bye," Megan said. "But try to catch a flight back to Ceres as soon as possible. Minerva and I miss you."

Now _that_ was something that Morgan could care about. This time, a smile came to her lips on its own.

Morgan opened her eyes, returning to the world of Vulcan. She stepped outside of the glass booth. After her talk with Megan, the buildings and landscape of Vulcan appeared a little less grey. Things were looking up.

"Teleport," Morgan whispered.

It was time to finish what she had started.

* * *

Morgan appeared in an inconspicuous-looking room on the outskirts of town that she had formerly used to meet with her associate. Her psionic senses registered the entity in front of her before her physical senses did.

"Who's th-"

Morgan stared at the person in front of her.

 _Minerva?_ She almost asked.

But no… Morgan had known Minerva long enough to tell that this wasn't her. Sure, this person _looked_ the same, but her stoic posture was natural rather than forced. She looked at Morgan with steely eyes, like a wolf examining its prey.

"My, my," Morgan said. "Where are my manners? The name's Morgan. Don't bother introducing yourself; your reputation precedes you."

"I assumed that you would mistake me for my sister," the woman said, her monotone voice providing a sharp contrast from Minerva's.

"Never mind that. What brings you here, Diana Carpainter?"

"Minerva told me that she assigned you to take out our father. I wanted to see if you needed me."

"Already taken care of," Morgan said. "Thanks for offering, though."

Diana's eyes narrowed.

"My PSI vision doesn't work on you because of your mind shield," she said, "But I get the feeling that you're telling the truth. Congrats, I guess. And thanks."

Something about Diana's tone caused Morgan to bristle. She took out one of the most dangerous men of the century, and she got a halfhearted congratulation?

"I apologize if I am not appropriately enthralled by your achievement," Diana said.

"Are you mocking me?" Morgan asked.

"No. I just can't deal with other people's needs when I'm still struggling with mine. So how did you kill my father? I tried taking him down before and it didn't go well." Diana's lips formed a wry smile. "It ended with close to a thousand corpses on the ground, many of them civilians who just wanted to escape from father's lockdown on the city."

Right then, Morgan's associate walked in the room. The woman gasped upon seeing Diana, nearly dropping the dishes that she was carrying.

"Silence," Morgan said, not wanting anyone outside the room to overhear. "Ah, everything went well, I assume?"

"What do you mean?" the woman asked. "And why are you here, Ms. Carpainter? I thought that your father…"

"Wanted me gone? Yes. I was tracking down Morgan and found traces of her thoughts here. What's your name?"

" _My_ name?" the woman asked. "I never really had one. Most people just call me Raven."

"Nice to meet you, Raven," Diana said, reciting the greeting without putting any emotion into it. "I take it that you were involved with Morgan's plan?"

"Plan?" Raven asked. "What plan?"

"I wiped her memory," Morgan explained. "I couldn't let Carpainter read her mind and know what I had in store for him, after all."

"What?" Raven asked. "My… memory? No, that's crazy. I would remember…"

"Getting your memory wiped?" Morgan offered. "Of course I would wipe all memories of the wiping as well. You can probably think of a few holes in your memory from the past week or so. We met and plotted together to kill Apollo Carpainter. And now he's dead!"

"No, that's…" Raven furrowed her eyebrows. "Carpainter was still alive and well the last I saw him, which was about an hour ago."

"What happened?" Diana asked. Something about her soft, deadly serious voice sent a chill down Morgan's spine.

"Doesn't really matter," Morgan said. "He's dead."

"I think that it does matter at least a little!" Raven protested.

"I'll tell you later," Morgan said. "I just don't want a fugitive mass murderer to know how I killed one of the most powerful men in the universe."

"You don't sugarcoat things, huh?" Diana asked. "If you had told me that a few months ago, I probably would have put an arrow in your eye."

"How are you so sure that he's dead, then?" Raven asked. "And why should I believe you when you say that I worked with you and you wiped my memory? Sometimes, people just forget what they do. Maybe the holes in my memory are from doing really boring things."

 _Finally!_ Morgan thought. _I've been waiting for that one._

"I'm so glad that you asked," Morgan said. "In fact, I have proof right here."

Morgan pulled out a thin, metal rod lined with holes and buttons.

"This recorded some of our conversations," Morgan said. "How about I show you one?"

"Minerva really wasn't kidding when she mentioned that you plan for everything," Diana muttered.

"I… guess I'll listen," Raven said, looking nervously at Diana. "I mean, sure. Why not?"

Morgan smiled. She wouldn't have taken no for an answer. She pressed a button on the rod, and the recording started to play.

* * *

[Morgan's Voice]: I'm just going to ask you a few questions, all right? This is all being recorded, so think about what you're going to say.

[Raven's Voice]: All right. I think I can do that.

[Morgan's Voice]: Tell me, why did you join up with these cultists?

(Raven sighs, followed by a pause)

[Raven's Voice]: I guess… Well, there are a lot of reasons. My husband died recently from a fire in one of the textile mills. I knew that I couldn't support my two children on my own. A worker's wage on Vulcan hardly pays enough to get the worker food and water, much less a decent lifestyle for three.

[Morgan's Voice]: So you were angry at the system?

[Raven's Voice]: There's that, and I also wanted to keep my kids safe. When the Happy Happyists approached me, they came with food and toys. My children smiled for the first time since their dad died. In that moment, I knew that I would join them in a heartbeat to keep my kids happy… and so did they. I should have known that it was too good to be true.

[Morgan's Voice]: So you joined.

[Raven's Voice]: Right. A week after I joined, I saw Mr. Carpainter fry one of his followers with lightning. He didn't have any reason, he just… did it. In that moment, I knew that I had made a mistake by joining. As the weeks dragged on, I saw more and more deaths. Random people on the street. Officials who opposed him. Nobody was safe. I wanted to leave.

[Morgan's Voice]: But you couldn't.

[Raven's Voice]: I… couldn't, no matter how much I want to. They would kill me if I tried to leave. They would kill my children…

(Raven sobs quietly)

[Morgan's Voice]: Do you think that most people who follow Mr. Carpainter feel that way?

[Raven's Voice]: Depends on the person. Some people like how simple their new lives are. Follow the leader. Hate who he hates. Get some food for your trouble. That sort of thing tends to attract Vulcanese. But I knew a lot of other people inside the cult who would have done anything to escape. One man tried to run. When he knew that Carpainter was following him, he slit his own throat.

[Morgan's Voice]: Don't worry. That's why I'm here. You agreed to help me kill him, remember?

[Raven's Voice]: Yes, yes I did.

[Morgan's Voice]: I'm going to erase this memory, but I'll show it to you later to prove that we did work together. Is that all right?

[Raven's Voice]: Of course. If Carpainter read my mind and saw this memory, he would kill me without hesitation.

* * *

"Is that enough proof for you?" Morgan asked.

"I… guess so," Raven said. "It just seems so weird. I _know_ that the person in the recording was me and I do feel that way, but I just can't remember it."

"You don't remember this because I wiped this memory from your mind as well, but I promised that I'd send you back to the village that you lived in before you joined the cult. Your children are already there."

Raven's eyes lit up.

"Really? Thank you, ma'am! You're a lifesaver, literally."

"I try my hardest," Morgan said. "Would you like me to teleport you there right now?"

"Yes, please." Raven shook her head. "My children are safe. They won't have to worry about cultists making them do anything ever again… Oh, I'm ready. Thank you for all of your help!"

"You're welcome," Morgan said. "Teleport."

Raven phased out of existence, waving goodbye.

"So a lot of those cultists only stayed because of fear," Diana whispered. "What does that mean about all of the men that Ness and I killed? How many of them were suffocating inside as my father called down lightning on the innocent?"

"Ness?" Morgan asked. "Who's Ness?"

"Uh, nobody," Diana said.

 _I'll have to remember that name…_

"Also," Diana said in an obvious attempt to change the subject, "It didn't seem like you actually cared about Raven's story while you were recording it."

"Pardon?" Morgan asked.

"It seemed like you wanted everyone to know how she suffered," Diana said. "But it also didn't sound like she affected you in any way. Maybe it's just my perception, but… I think that you wanted her story only for the impact that it would have on other people."

"Is that so wrong?" Morgan asked. "I saved her life and I will spread her story. Why does it matter how I feel?"

"There's more to an action than its consequences," Diana said. "A little compassion can go a long way."

"Says you," Morgan said with a snort. "The person who killed thousands without thinking is telling _me_ to be more compassionate."

"Exactly," Diana said, her stony voice causing Morgan to flinch. "I killed all of those people because I lacked compassion. I'm telling you from personal experience that you _don't_ want to go there." Diana grimaced, her haunted eyes making her look as fragile as a doll. "Because if you do, it will torment you for the rest of your life."

 _Well, that's a little dramatic,_ Morgan thought. _But given her situation, it's hard to blame her._

"I'm not you," Morgan said. "I'm educated. I have friends who will help me out."

"That's probably enough to stop you from turning into me," Diana said, turning around. "Probably."

Diana waved her hands and teleported away, leaving Morgan alone. Morgan sighed, glad that Diana wasn't as hostile as she expected. Diana's words echoed in Morgan's head.

 _You don't want to go there._

 _If you do, it will torment you for the rest of your life._

Morgan took a deep breath. She had spent too much of her life worrying and stressing. No use in letting Diana's pessimism bog her down. Today was good.

Tomorrow would be better.


	21. Interlude: Tracy

**Hey, everyone! Happy Friday! :)**

 **So I just realized after reading though all of the interludes that the Morgan one was the only happy/light interlude of the four. Maybe I should have stuck that in the middle to give you guys a break haha. Anyways, this one's a Tracy interlude, and it's probably the least plot important of the four. Don't worry, though; it's a little shorter than the others. You won't be stuck for 7k words reading about something with no relevance whatsoever. :)**

 **And I do think that this chapter is worth including. It goes through a lot of Tracy's problems, as well as Ness'. Also, it's part of my ongoing project to bash every style of living there is (already bashed elitist Ceres and big city Vulcan). This chapter goes over some of the downsides of a small town, especially one in a less socially developed/connected world like rural Eagleland (Eagleland is world confirmed).**

 **Also, there's a lot of teenage angst and family-based conflict. I guess I'm taking a page out of Phoesong's book. ;)**

 **But yeah, who else is glad that AP tests are over? :D Unless you have late tests, that is. D: I'm lucky that I don't.**

 **And I graduate from high school in 3 weeks. That's kind of scary. :x I DON'T FEEL LIKE AN ADULT YET AHHHHHHHH**

 **But enough about me and onto the review responses! :)**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Yep, same Raven. :) Right, Morgan most certainly did not forget Ness. Protags beware. o.O Yeah, Morgan's a little flippant in general, so when things started to actually get rough... it didn't turn out so well. Nope, the kids aren't anyone in the story (yet). Yeah, that was the point of the ending. I wanted to highlight just how much Morgan changed in the past couple of years and how someone who's supposedly healthy and productive could find their life heading downward so quickly. Yep, the mushrooms are a key plot point. :) A lot of the reason for this interlude was to introduce them so that they don't seem out of place when used in a future situation... heh. Thanks and see you later! :)

 **PSIBoy:** Yeah, it's pretty hard to study for Lang. My friends say that the grading is super arbitrary, so I don't know if it even matters much (how they know that, though, is something that I haven't pressed them about). Yeah, I was hoping to indicate that something was a little off with Mr. Agerate, but I could see why it would be easy to go the other way as well. He's pretty enigmatic, so him actually being super evil and heartless isn't that far-fetched. Yep, the starmen are still lurking around. Honestly, I just couldn't fidn a place to fit them in the Vulcan conflict. But they're more apathetic towards humanity than many in the universe believe, so again it's reasonable that they just kinda sit around and don't do much.

Yep, part of the point of this chapter was to highlight the differences between current Morgan and past Morgan. She's quite a wild card, isn't she? I'll say right now that she definitely won't sit back and act passive like the starmen did for all of the last part. Indeed, I was trying to draw a contrast between Diana's path and Morgan's. Not a parallel so much as... a perpendicular? Is that a literary term? Somehow, I don't think it is. Well, having no criticism means that I'm probably not screwing this up _too_ badly, which is good to know. :) See you later!

 **crabbyTomato:** Well. The fanfic website emailed me that you sent a review, but it's not showing up on the site multiple hours later. I have no idea how that works, so I guess I'll just respond to the snippet that I can see in the email?

Ooh, how were those finals? Tests for engineering classes sound especially painful. Speaking of which, I took my physics AP tests on Monday. E&M is way too hard for me. D: You wouldn't think that a 200-level equivalent class could be so hard, and it really shouldn't be, but physics just destroys me. Yep, Jeff went through grief rather quickly... partly because he's not completely done. Imminent danger has a habit of postponing those sorts of emotional struggles. :) There will be plenty of mopey Jeff stuff later (possibly too much). Eh, you can keep the scene if you want. Sometimes similar plot points just happen, especially in a genre like fantasy. Yep, Kumatora will feature in another character's interlude. :) Yeah, Morgan being a normal person was one thing that I really wanted to stress in this chapter. I agree; a lot of the arranged marriages that still happen in parts of the world today can be quite harmful.

...And that's where it cuts off. D:

 **A Fan:** It's okay that you didn't write anything longer, because it wouldn't have shown up on the site anyway. I dunno what's wrong with it.

That's a really good point about Jeff throwing rocks if nothing else. Even if Jeff isn't really that useful, he can at least try. It makes for a more compelling story than a guy cowering in a corner. It's like how in M3, it's hard not to like Fuel when he supports Flint because even though he doesn't do a whole lot, he's trying his hardest to help out. I'll take that into account in future chapters. And in this universe, Jeff doesn't have combat technology like that (yet... :D) because there's no real reason that he should logically need it (he expects to live in an academic setting, after all). So yeah, just like what you said. :)

See you later! :)

* * *

 **One and a half years ago:**

"Happy birthday, Tracy!"

Tracy turned around, greeting her friend with a smile. Nobody knew the boy's real name; everyone took to calling him the "Apple Kid." Tracy looked at the piece of fruit in his hand and couldn't help but feel intrigued.

"Is that for me?" she asked.

Apple Kid nodded, holding out the fruit.

"It's called a peach," he said. "They're originally from Dalaam, but I got this one from a Scaraban trader. Persia, err… Old Scaraba produces a lot of them, but traders don't make their way up to northern Eagleland every day, you know?"

"Thank you," Tracy said, accepting the peach. "Huh. It's fuzzy."

"I know. But apparently, they taste exotic."

"We're getting more and more exposure to the exotic, huh?" Tracy asked. "If we were born a hundred years ago, I don't think that either of us would know anything outside of our little towns. We wouldn't even know each other, since you live in Twoson." Tracy sighed. "Divine rulers, I hate Onett."

"Why?" Apple Kid asked. "Everyone else loves it."

"There's nothing to _do_ ," Tracy said. "I spend most of my days staring at fields of wheat. I'm at the age where people talk with their friends and exclude everyone else. And I'm pretty much always part of the 'everyone else'."

"I… see," Apple Kid said, twiddling his thumbs. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Tracy said. "It's not your fault. Psych, you walked a couple miles from Twoson just to see me. Thank you for that, by the way. Nobody else has even acknowledged my birthday today."

"Oh, you're welcome." Apple Kid blushed. "But I think I know why people in Onett don't like you."

"Hmm?"

"Your family used to be pretty well off, right?"

Used to be. Those words left Tracy with a lingering sense of rage.

"Yeah," Tracy said. "So what?"

"People are jealous of wealth," Apple Kid said. "Especially since they view your family as 'bad'."

"Why would they say that?" Tracy asked. "Our family was fine!"

"I agree, but…"

"But what?"

Apple Kid sighed.

"But your father was hardly ever home. Do you even remember what he looked like?"

Of course she did! Tracy searched her mind for an image of him and…

 _Oh, psych._

Tracy remembered a few details about him. She remembered his black hair and eyes that contrasted so vividly with her own blond and blue. She remembered him dressed in purple robes, looking like a nobleman from the days of the empire. But besides that, she wouldn't be able to distinguish him from an older-looking Ness.

"Why does it matter if I remember?" Tracy huffed. "That's not his fault."

"People thought it was weird how your dad was never really close to you and Ness," Apple Kid said. "They hated your family because your dad made lots of money instead of spending time with his children. They probably think that he had it coming."

"That's crazy!"

"They feel that way about my family as well. Both of my parents work as managers on Vulcan. Whenever I go out and walk around, people always go out of their way to avoid me."

"I thought that everyone just hated me, but this is worse," Tracy whispered. "My dad died working so that we could live a comfortable life. He was going to send us to college in Fourside. And they're psyching _glad?_ "

"Uh… Tracy?" Apple Kid asked. "Your peach."

Tracy gasped, realizing only then that she had been squeezing the peach so tightly that her fingers dug into the fruit's flesh. Juice trickled down Tracy's arm.

"Psych it!" Tracy shouted. "I'm… I'm sorry, Apple Kid."

"It's fine," Apple Kid said. "Really, don't worry about it."

"No, it's not fine at all. You walked all the way over here just to wish me a happy birthday and I ruined your present. Why can't I do _anything_ right?"

In that moment, Tracy let out all of the thoughts that she had pushed to the back of her mind. Her father was dead. She would never see him laugh or smile ever again, and she didn't even remember what his face looked like. If only she had spent more time with him. If only she had let him in instead of cutting him out of her life because of her bitterness. If only… The list went on and on.

And because of that, her family could never afford to send her off to school. Her mom worked as a laundress, washing clothes until her hands were raw. Even with all of her mom's hard work, Tracy still went to bed hungry on some nights. Every day, Tracy wondered how much longer they would last.

And just because of some stupid grudge, the people of Onett were leaving them to fight for economic survival. Tracy knew in the back of her mind that she wouldn't want their assistance anyway, but that didn't stop her from hating every single person in Onett, except for her family.

She wasn't even sure about not hating her family. Ever since their father died, Ness had been an absolute _wreck._ Tracy didn't mind taking on the responsibilities of an adult, but when Ness couldn't even fix himself something to eat in the morning… It just didn't seem fair.

"We're being choked," Tracy whispered. "We can't possibly last another five or ten years. Not like this. And I can't even take care of the one present that I got for my birthday."

Tracy started crying. She knew that she was weak, that she was pathetic, but that only increased the volume of her tears.

"Tracy," Apple Kid said. "Please don't feel bad. I don't mind, really."

 _This isn't about you!_ Tracy wanted to shout. _I've never done anything right. I couldn't save dad. I couldn't make money to help out mom. I can't even make any friends._

"I'm sorry," Tracy said. "I'm sorry."

"No, you don't have to feel sorry!"

"Can we… talk later?" she asked. "I need to be by myself for a while."

"If you really want to, but-"

"Thanks," Tracy interrupted. "Goodbye. And… I'm sorry again."

Wiping her eyes, Tracy turned away to face the lonely, dirt roads of Onett. Looking at the lonely town that she lived in made her heart heave with regret. If Tracy's dad were still alive, she could run and play again without thinking about copper coins or psionic crystals. Ness would finally return to his old self. That fantasy was so close that she could almost touch it.

Tracy hunched her shoulders and walked away.

* * *

Tracy ate her peach as she walked back to her house. It was one of the best things that she had ever tasted, but it didn't help dampen her mood. She threw out the pit before walking in her house. Her mom would go on and on about how lucky Tracy was to get a present if she saw, and Tracy wasn't in the mood to deal with a talkative parent.

Tracy opened the door, stepped inside her house, and took off her shoes. The television blazed in the background. Of course Ness was watching that stupid thing instead of getting anything done. Didn't he know how expensive the psionic crystals that powered that piece of junk were?

Tracy's mom walked up to greet her with a haggard smile on her face. Her hunched back and bloodshot eyes made Tracy think of the empty-eyed beggars on the streets of Fourside. Her mouth tightened. Their family would _not_ fall that far.

"Tracy," her mom said. "How are you doing, sweetie?"

"Fine," Tracy muttered.

"Come on, cheer up! It's your birthday!"

 _How can you say that?_ Tracy wanted to ask. _How can you tell me to cheer up when our family is falling further and further into poverty?_

"Tracy, don't look at me like that," her mom said. "I know that it's tough, but we need to stay strong."

 _For what? Life isn't going to get better anytime soon._

"I'm exhausted," Tracy's mom said, shaking her head. "Would you mind doing the dishes?"

"Oh, of course it's _me_ who has to do the dishes," Tracy said, rolling her eyes.

"Don't take that tone with me, young woman," Her mom said, pointing a finger at Tracy. "I work as hard as I can to keep us together."

"I know that," Tracy said. "But Ness has done nothing useful for the past six months. Maybe he should do something to help out for once in his life."

Ness inhaled sharply from the next room over. For some reason, that made Tracy want to scream at him even more.

"Tracy," her mom said. "Take that back! Ness saw his dad die in front of his own eyes. He faced a crowd of cultists thinking that he was going to die. He stood up to Apollo Carpainter, the symbol of evil in today's society. I think that gives him an excuse to take some time and recover."

"It's been six months!" Tracy shouted. "Yeah, I was fine with it for a month. Maybe even two or three. But _six?_ "

"Different people recover at different rates."

"Why do you always have to take his side?" Tracy yelled. Turning away, "Today's my birthday, mom. Can't he do something instead of me for at least one day out of the year?"

"I'm sorry," Tracy's mom said, "But Ness just can't do it."

"Oh?" Tracy asked, turning back to face her mom as her heart pounded in rage. "And only he matters, right? What I can or can't do doesn't mean anything to you. When I said that I couldn't go on after losing dad, you told me to pick myself off the floor. When Ness does the same thing, you say that I should feel bad for him. Tell me how that is psyching fair!"

"Tracy!" her mom shouted. "Watch your language."

"I don't give a psych!" Tracy shouted. "Psych, psych, psych. You can't stop me any longer, mom."

Tracy walked into the adjacent room where Ness was sitting. She glanced at the TV screen and scoffed.

"Ceresian news?" she asked, turning towards Ness. "Why watch that station?"

Ness shied back.

"Answer me," Tracy hissed, leaning up to Ness.

Ness' eyes bugged wide open. He scrambled backwards, curling his body up to look vulnerable. He looked at Tracy as if she were a monster with jaws that were about to devour him.

"Stop playing the victim!" Tracy shouted. "Say something to me, psych it!"

Ness stood up in one, stiff motion. He walked upstairs quickly enough to irritate Tracy further.

"Go ahead!" Tracy shouted. "Just keep running away so that you don't have to do anything hard! Eventually, life is going to bite you in the ass."

"Tracy!" her mother shouted, storming into the room. "Look what you did!"

Tracy couldn't help but feel vindicated by her mother's intense glare. She should have stood up and expressed her true feelings a long time ago.

"At least I can turn the TV off," Tracy muttered. "You waste too much money on the psionic crystals that power that thing, mom. Ness can learn to live without his dramas or whatever he watches on that piece of junk."

"Do you feel no shame?" Tracy's mom demanded, her eyes narrowed in disgust. "Look at what you did to him! He's _terrified_ of you."

 _And I'm terrified of you,_ Tracy thought, putting on a confident smile. _But unlike him, I'm proving that I can face my fears. I won't give in this time!_

Still, Tracy had been conditioned from a young age to fear her mom. She started to feel more and more like a caged animal.

 _No,_ Tracy thought. _I need to overcome my fear. If I lash out again then I'll feel guilty for days. I need to prove to myself that I'm the real adult here._

"Listen," Tracy said. "You've been prioritizing energy for the TV over food. Ness has enough crystals to watch TV nonstop, which he basically does, but you won't buy milk because you say that it's too expensive. Isn't there something wrong with that?"

"So you terrorize Ness like a bully?"

"Yeah, just like you terrorize me!"

In the back of Tracy's mind, she realized that her mom was changing the subject and that she should keep her cool while steering the conversation back on course, but she was too scared to listen to that side of her. For Tracy, it was fight or flight. Negotiation and analytics were options for non-emergencies.

"I can't believe that I hear the words coming out of your mouth," Tracy's mom said. "You were such a sweet child, you know. Always eager to make people happy. What lead you to become like this?"

"I'm angry," Tracy said. "Angry that I lost my dad, brother, and mom in one day! I still remember Ness as the brother who would play baseball and practice swordplay with me, but that person is dead! And you're so busy earning money that I never see you anymore. I just want us to be one big happy family again. But that will never happen." Tracy's vision blurred with tears. "Everything's gone."

"Emergency announcement!" a reporter on the television announced, his face ghostly pale. "The planet of Aphrodite was assaulted by a large number of nuclear weapons. Bombs struck every known city, village, and town on the entire planet. This is not a joke. It appears that the entire 150 million people on Aphrodite were killed in one fell swoop. It has not been confirmed, but the government of Ceres hypothesizes that the starmen are to blame…"

"Divine Rulers!" Tracy's mom said. "They're… not serious, are they?"

"They said it's not a joke," Tracy said. "It's... real."

Tracy tried to muster up compassion for those lost on Aphrodite and only found a numbness that protected her from further pain. Perhaps her body realized that she already worried too much.

"As much as everyone probably wishes that things would go back to the way that they were," Tracy whispered, looking at the television screen. "That will never happen."

Tracy pictured a nuclear bomb falling on Aphrodite, only in her imagination the rest of her family was also taken out by the explosion. It wouldn't be much different from what actually happened to them. Tracy whipped around and ran out of the house before her mother could protest. She looked back at her house with all of its empty windows and lonely bricks. Why did she always dread coming home more than anything else? Was there no power left in the word "family?"

"Everything's gone," Tracy said. "Even Ness. Even mom. I'm the only one left."

She had never before felt so alone.


	22. Interlude: Lucas

**Welp, here we are on another beautiful Friday (it's beautiful where I am, anyway). If you thought that the last chapter had a lot of sibling angst, then I fear for you when you read this one. This is Lucas' POV, and you'll find out why he hates Claus in the current day. So yeah, not super pleasant. Or maybe this chapter isn't so dark because I completely butchered any attempt at creating a decent atmosphere. I dunno.**

 **Also, I was editing this chapter and I realized that the main purpose for the glass telecommunicator in the first interlude was to familiarize you with them so it doesn't seem as jarring when I use it for a bigger plot purpose here. I was literally setting up for the** ** _setup._** **Setup-ception, setup mind games... or whatever people on the internet say these days. I can't keep up with a culture that pivots around a new trend every 20 minutes.**

 **I also found out yesterday that my Journalism teacher legitimately believes that dinosaurs never existed. Like... wat?**

 **And I'm going to prom tomorrow. We'll see how** ** _that_** **turns out. :/ I can't imagine that I'll make it through the night without slipping up several times, but I keep reminding myself that I'll never see 98% of the people again once I start college.**

 **But yeah, onto the review responses.**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** I find it interesting that you take Tracy's side since that argument was based a lot off of my family dynamics and I was basically Tracy in that discussion (actually, I'm more similar to Tracy in general than I'd like to admit). So a lot of Tracy's thoughts about staying rational were my own, although I was older than her when the irl argument happened (16, I think?). And of course, I'm glad that you liked the chapter. :) Honestly, the only reason that I ended up writing it was that I wanted to have four interludes per fic (since last time we got Pokey/Ana/Lucas/Diana) and I needed another person. Since we're not going to hear too much more about Ness' and Tracy's pasts, I thought that it would be nice to cover it in that interlude.

 **crabbyTomato:** Well, your old review's back, but fanfiction ate your new one. Considering that my email says that you reviewed over 6 hours ago (probably 7 by the time that this is posted), I'm just going to assume that it won't turn up and respond to what I can see. :(

Ah, that's good. I know that engineering classes can be rough, so I'm glad that you're doing well with it. :) Most people in my school have the opposite experience: while physics is graded far more easily, learning physics itself is far harder than learning Calculus to us. It's also interesting that you find your classes easy; for me everything grew harder. Like in Calc w/ series and vectors and stuff last year, everyone always complained about how hard everything was and we consoled ourselves by listening to multiple reports of people who went to engineering schools and found multivariate to be easier and less competitive than what we did (dunno how true that actually is; my only firsthand source said that the material is about the same difficulty but the curve is lower). But then physics came along this year and absolutely destroyed any level of difficulty that Calc tried to set. On a section of the multiple choice regarding magnetic induction, I got a 1 out of 6. I still passed the test with a low B, but it was pretty rough haha.

Yeah, Ness and Tracy didn't really like each other much when the series started. I was planning on getting to this far more quickly than I actually did, so I'm glad that you remember. :) Yeah, growing up fast can often make people bitter, and Tracy isn't the most laid-back person to begin with. And it's not even really that Ness is supposed to be her support; she usually relies on her mother for support but now her mother's super busy with work and taking care of Ness. But yeah, she was basically expecting a middle-class life that involved higher level education, so she's super pissed now that her expectations weren't really going to happen. And because she has a strong sense of what's right and what's wrong, she's super hard on Ness for his psychological struggles. And... that's about where it cuts off. I managed to rant longer than I expected about school, though, so I guess you have enough to read anyway haha. :D

* * *

 **Note:** I wish to provide some context to what you are about to see. This is set on the now desolate world of Aphrodite. Created as a "utopia" to counter the empire's influence, this world embodied nature and chaos. Sometimes nature helped its inhabitants and sometimes it hurt them.

But that all changed during the fascist movement of the 60s. A group called the pigmasks "modernized" towns by force and killed any who opposed them. Their executions amounted to a genocide that claimed five million lives, or a little over than three percent of Aphrodite's population. Think about it. Think of about 30 people you know. Relatives, close friends, lovers… whoever you want. The fascists just murdered one of those people.

This is a story about how that incident affected two brothers. I apologize if their actions go against your ideas of what families should act like, but I won't hide the truth. Between the starmen, the pigmasks, and my sister, these boys really went through hell.

I hope that you can forgive what Claus did here and what Lucas did afterwards.

-D.C; AA

* * *

 **One and a half years ago:**

Lucas looked at a puddle of purple liquid on the streets of New Pork City. It gave off a rancid smell, but Lucas hardly noticed it over the stench of the city as a whole.

"Claus," Lucas whispered. "Do you know what that is?"

Lucas' throat burned whenever he spoke. It felt like he was sick, only he knew that being in this city was his only affliction. He coughed several times a minute. The toxic fumes of the metropolis made his eyes sting. Lucas started to realize how much he had taken for granted in his home town of Tazmily. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but at least he could _breathe._

"The puddle?" Claus asked. "I don't know. Toxic waste, perhaps?"

Claus shrugged and walked past. Lucas trailed behind him, sneaking looks back at the puddle. What if a stray cat was stuck in there, its flesh burning away as it begged for help? Even though Lucas knew that didn't make any sense, he couldn't get the image out of his mind. He almost asked Claus, but he knew that his brother would just call him stupid. Maybe Lucas _was_ stupid.

"How much longer until we get there?" Lucas asked.

"I don't psyching know, okay?" Claus snapped. "What does it matter to you?"

"I don't like this place," Lucas whispered.

Claus turned his one-eyed gaze on his brother. Lucas trembled, trying to shrink away from Claus' harsh face.

 _Please,_ Lucas begged. _Please don't hurt me…_

"And you think that I do?" Claus shouted, bringing his mouth so close that Lucas could feel Claus' hot breath on his face. "Do you think that _anyone_ likes this hellpit? I guess our neighbors do, since some of them live here, but I hate this place too! What about it? It's not like we have a psyching choice."

"Claus," Lucas whispered. "You're scaring me."

" _I'm_ scaring you?" Claus' mocking laughter shredded the inside of Lucas' ears. "What about the starmen, Lucas? They invaded our village and killed mom! What about the pigmasks? They burned Tazmily to the ground after 'helping' it with devices that we never needed!"

"Claus…"

"Think about Fuel. Do you remember how he smiled at us? How we used to go into the woods and explore? How he would come home so proud that he caught a frog or a salamander or whatever the hell lives around the pond? He's dead! The pigmasks hung him for treason because he tried to stop them from bulldozing his house. You were there, Lucas. You saw what he looked like as the rope chafed at the flesh around his neck, how he looked at us with those desperate eyes of his before falling still. So tell me, how am I the psyching bad guy here?"

Claus' words continued to ring in Lucas' head. Lucas bit his lip, trying to distract himself with the pain so that he wouldn't cry. Claus always yelled at him for crying. After a few seconds of silence, Claus' face softened.

"Let's go, all right?" he asked. "We'll be done soon. I promise."

Well, that was as close to an apology as Lucas would ever get. Besides, Lucas knew how hard it was for Claus. His brother always planned everything out and made sure to protect Lucas when they got stuck in dangerous situations. It was okay for Claus to get mad every once in a while, right?

Claus resumed walking through the city, and Lucas needed to run to catch up. Lucas looked up at Claus' weary face and saw the pain that he carried behind his single, haunted eye. He knew that his brother blamed himself for Tazmily's destruction.

"It wasn't your fault, Claus," Lucas whispered.

Claus' face soured. He turned away, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You don't understand," Claus said. "I have to be stronger. If the pigmasks could take Tazmily away from me, what happens if they try to take you? With my PSI, I can probably take one, maybe even a dozen. But an entire legion? You'd be as good as dead."

Lucas knew that he should appreciate Claus' desire to protect him, but a bitter feeling rose in his chest all of the same. Lucas pushed the emotion down, replacing it with guilt. If Claus wanted to protect him, the least that he could do was accept his brother's help.

"But I won't get stronger just sitting around," Claus said. "Come on, let's go find that telecommunicator."

Claus took off walking and Lucas followed closely behind. Lucas' heart raced every time that they passed by an alley. What if men with knives lurked there, ready to pounce onto unsuspecting children? Lucas detected no similar fear in Claus. Why did Lucas always have to be weak and afraid while his brother didn't even hesitate in the face of unfamiliar situations?

Lucas felt even worse every time they walked past a pigmask. He used the same thoughts to calm himself down every time. After all, Lucas and Claus were just regular boys to the pigmasks. Hardly any of the fascists would know that they came from Tazmily, and even fewer would care. Still, Lucas' stomach gurgled every time that a snout-nosed soldier strolled past them. He almost barfed, but the thought of Claus' displeased face gave him enough energy to suppress the motion.

After a few, torturous hours spent wandering around New Pork City, Lucas and Claus arrived at a glass booth sitting out in the open. It was covered with soot. Wrappers and cans were strewn carelessly around the entrance.

"Found it," Claus said. "Now I just need to figure out how to use it."

"I want to go in there too," Lucas whispered. He flinched when Claus turned to look at him. "I mean…"

"Why would you?" Claus asked. "You never even say anything. Besides, I don't even know if this booth can fit two."

"Please?" Lucas asked.

"…Fine," Claus muttered. "Although I don't know why you would bother."

"Thank you!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Don't make me regret this," Claus muttered.

Lucas and Claus stepped into the booth. Claus closed his eyes and fiddled around with his psionic senses, his expression growing increasingly more frustrated. After a few minutes, Claus swore and pounded his fist against the glass frame.

 _Careful,_ Lucas thought. _We don't want to break our only method of communication with the outside universe!_

Lucas shuddered to think what would happen if he said that out loud.

"I don't know if this thing even works anymore," Claus grumbled. "I don't think that anyone's used it in centuries. Modern Aphrodite was founded on an anti-PSI principle, after all."

"You think that they would have destroyed this telecommunicator, then," Lucas said. "Since only PSI-users can activate it."

"They probably tried," Claus said, "But this thing is sturdy. I don't know if pigmask technology could even break this."

"Oh," Lucas said, feeling silly about worrying that Claus would break it. "Um… may I try to activate it?"

"It doesn't work."

"May I try anyways? It won't hurt, right?"

"I… guess not. Go ahead."

Lucas sighed. This time Claus went pretty mild on Lucas, but other times he would start screaming over something just as harmless.

Lucas closed his eyes, reaching out with his psionic senses. After a few seconds, he detected a number of psionic pathways stretching to other planets. It was easy to see why Claus had gotten so frustrated; there were so many pathways that Lucas could barely keep them straight. One by one, Lucas followed each trail until he sensed the telecommunicator on the other side.

"Broken, right?" Claus asked.

"Give me some more time," Lucas said.

After a few minutes of tracing pathways, he found the one that he wanted: the Ceresian palace. Without really knowing how, he poured psionic power into that pathway and established a connection with the telecommunicator on Ceres.

"Got it!" Lucas said.

"Wha…. but how?" Claus asked. "It's psyching broken!"

"Does it matter? Close your eyes so that you can see if anyone accepts."

"I don't take orders from you," Claus said.

"Please?"

"…Fine."

Lucas closed his eyes and found himself standing inside a completely white room. He knew that if he opened his eyes, this image would disappear. He looked around for furnishings and found only blank walls and floors. A few seconds later, Claus appeared in his room, eyepatch and all. Lucas always shivered when he looked at Claus' eyepatch, and this illusory room didn't grant him an exception.

"Hmph," Claus said. "Nobody on the other side is going to respond. Like I said, this telecommunicator hasn't been used in centuries."

"So it hasn't."

A middle-aged woman with grey hair and wiry limbs appeared in the room, wearing a superficial smile. Lucas could tell that she hid distress under her blank face, but he would never dream of pointing that out to a stranger.

"The name's Minerva Carpainter," the woman said. "I didn't know that there were any psions left on Aphrodite. How did you awaken your powers?"

"A folk named the magypsies helped us with that," Claus said. "Ms. Carpainter… You are the president of Ceres, yes?"

Minerva hesitated before nodding.

"Then please, you have to help us," Claus said. "A fascist group called the pigmasks destroyed our village. They're doing the same to others. I don't know if you've seen what they do, but it's gruesome. Zombified animals. Weapons capable of causing explosions with the pull of a trigger. Please, help us stop them."

"I'm… afraid that I can't do that," Minerva said, smoothing out her robes.

"Why not?" Claus demanded. "Please, we're desperate for anything. Our best friend was hanged for defending his property. I couldn't even recognize some of the people I knew after the pigmasks used explosives on them. We have nothing."

Minerva drew a shaky breath.

"I can't believe this," she said. "I nearly killed my best friend to get the order through, and now I can't face a couple kids about it."

 _About what?_ Lucas was too afraid to ask.

"I… guess I should just say it," Minerva whispered. "I owe you that much."

"Please," Claus said. "Tell me it's not something-"

"New Pork City will no longer exist by tomorrow morning. I'm dropping bombs all across Aphrodite that will wipe out most life. Any humans left alive will have to deal with a never-ending winter afterwards… the nuclear weapons tend to mess with the atmosphere quite a bit. Needless to say, everyone who lives on Aphrodite will be dead within a year."

"You're joking, right?" Claus asked with a nervous smile. "That's not real. They said that you were a good leader."

"What people say isn't always true," Minerva said with a sad smile. "I thought that you would have seen that by now. Tell me, did the pigmasks originally come to you with guns and cannons? Or did they come with gifts and promises first?"

 _No…_ Lucas thought. _I've already lost so much. I can't take any more. Please say that this is all one bad dream!_

Lucas looked towards Claus in desperation, but his brother was too focused on Minerva to notice him. The color drained from Claus' face as he realized that Minerva Carpainter was dead serious about bombing Aphrodite.

"You're no different than they are," Claus hissed. "You MONSTER!"

"That's not the first time I've heard that today," Minerva said. "Nor are you the closest person to me to say that. I want to say that I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if that's even true." Minerva seemed to snap awake, shaking her head. "You two may want to focus on getting off of the planet. Remember, if you're still here by tomorrow morning…" Minerva slid a finger across her throat. "You won't ever leave."

Lucas trembled like a leaf. He had watched his mother die right in front of his eyes. He had watched his best friend choke to death while looking at Lucas with betrayed eyes. His father's last words had been a curse against him and Claus. He had seen the pigmasks raze his home to the ground. Why did he have to go through this, too?

"You bitch!" Claus roared, lunging at Minerva. "I'll kill you!"

Claus' body passed right through Minerva's. He tumbled to the ground behind her, baring his teeth like a wolf.

"You can try," Minerva said. "I probably deserve it. You can't hurt me here, since our physical bodes aren't actually present. And do remember that I'm giving this opportunity to escape. Most leaders throughout history have done less."

"Don't try to act like you're psyching moral!" Claus shouted. "Don't act like you really care about anyone except for yourself!"

"And what would you know about that?" Minerva asked. "Does this one action define my entire personality?"

"When you're destroying a psyching _planet,_ yes!"

"Hmph," Minerva said. "I can see why you feel that way. I probably would react the same in your situation. Actually…" her gaze fell upon Lucas. "I would probably act more like him. My sister was always the one to shoot without thinking."

Lucas continued to tremble, watching Minerva and Claus trade blows like a neglected child watching his parents argue.

"I'm sorry," Minerva said to Lucas. "I… really do mean that, despite what I said earlier. Please believe me when I say that I don't want to kill 150 million people. If I could find another way…"

"Another way to do what?" Lucas asked, his voice trembling.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Minerva said. "And even if you did, it wouldn't matter since you're both probably going to die within a day."

"I'll kill you!" Claus hissed, taking heavy steps towards Minerva. "I'll… kill… you…"

"Great," Minerva whispered, closing her eyes. "I can hardly face you two, but I'm causing the death of 150 million people just like you. If I take what I see here and multiply it by 75 million…" Minerva chuckled painfully. "My brain can't even comprehend what that would mean. I only wish that I had the choice to stop this."

"You _always_ have a choice," Claus said. "Own up to your crimes, bitch!"

"Oh, but I do," Minerva said. "The 150 million deaths are on me and nobody else. Your fates were sealed the second that my friend pulled the seventh needle out of the ground. I just said this, but I _am_ sorry for that. However, I have to choose between the destruction of a planet or the end to all of humankind."

"Yeah, right," Claus said. "Sadist! Psychopath!"

"Tell me," Minerva said, her voice booming across the room. "Is the guilt in my eyes fake? Am I really a psychopath?"

Lucas recognized the look on Minerva's face. It was how he looked every day of his life: weary, pained, begging for an end. Minerva was a functional human just like him. So how could she order the destruction of an entire planet?

"I think I've spent enough time justifying myself to someone who I'll never see again," Minerva said. "But man, this times 75 million…"

"Don't you dare leave!" Claus shouted. "I'm not done with you yet!"

"Don't you see?" Minerva asked. "You can't do anything to me. Nobody can harm me except for myself. Perhaps that's why I manage to hurt myself in the most spectacular ways. Goodbye… And for the last time, I'm sorry."

Minerva disappeared from the white room. Claus punched the wall until his fists bled.

"Damn it damn it DAMN IT!" he shouted. "This can't be happening."

"Claus…" Lucas said.

"What?" Claus' gaze snapped over to Lucas. "What do you want?"

"We need to leave. We need to escape."

"What's the point?" Claus whispered. "Run, run, run. We're always running away from something. When does it end, Lucas? When do we get to rest?"

"I… don't know."

"Maybe we weren't meant to survive the massacre on Tazmily," Claus said. "Maybe God is real and this is his way of making sure that we die."

"Claus, please…"

"Please what?" Claus shouted. "Am I not allowed to voice my thoughts? What would you do, Lucas? How long are you willing to run?"

"…"

"Don't look at me with those puppy-dog eyes. You won't get any sympathy from me."

"So I need to go alone?" Lucas asked. "You know that I can't do that."

Claus' face softened.

"I _guess_ I could stick with this a little longer," he said. "For your sake."

"Thanks," Lucas whispered. _Anything to calm him down._ "Let's go back to the real world, all right?"

Lucas opened his eyes, the illusion of the white room disappearing around him. He stepped outside of the booth onto the streets of New Pork City. For some reason, the alleys looked even darker than normal.

Claus groaned from inside the booth and followed Lucas out. Hesitantly, Lucas met his gaze and detected no anger towards him.

"This city probably has an astroport," Claus said. "We just need to find it before President Carpainter blows it up."

"Not so fast, kids," came a rough voice from one of the alleys.

A couple dozen men stepped out of the shadows, each one carrying a knife or a crossbow. They didn't look like pigmasks, but something about the hungry look in their eyes made Lucas want to cower behind Claus.

"I don't have time for you," Claus said. "Out of my way."

"Heh," the presumed leader of the gang said. "That's cute. The kid thinks that he can take us."

"Oi!" one of the other men said. "Maybe if we put a crossbow bolt through his brother then he'd be willing to listen."

"You so much as _look_ like you're going to hurt Lucas and I kill all of you," Claus said.

Lucas bit his lip. Why did Claus always threaten other people for his sake? Lucas didn't want to hurt anyone.

"Now," the gang leader said. "Let's hope that it doesn't come to that. We have no interest in taking your life. However, you're outnumbered and outarmed. Just hand over anything valuable that you might be carrying and we'll let you go free."

"Like I said, I don't have time for you," Claus repeated. "We're busy right now."

Six men pointed their crossbows at Claus.

"Would you like to say that again?" the gang leader asked.

"I. Don't. Have. Time. For. You. Happy now?"

"You really are a cocky kid, huh?" the gang leader asked. He motioned to the man next to him. "Fire at the blonde."

Lucas heard a _thwack_ of a crossbow being fired and let out a yelp. The next second, the crossbow bolt ripped through the flesh of his thigh, filling his vision with red. As Lucas writhed in pain, the only thing he could think about was how pathetic he felt when he was used as a tool to hurt Claus.

"All right," Claus said, his voice dangerously quiet. "You asked for this."

 _No!_ Lucas thought, his senses returning to him in a panic.

"Claus!" Lucas said. "Please, don't-"

"PK Love."

Lucas screamed in horror as waves of blue hexagons flew from Claus' hands, washing over the gang members like a wave. Every one of them fell to the ground when struck, not even crying out in pain. After the hexagons disappeared, silence filled the streets of New Pork City once more.

 _No,_ Lucas thought, looking at all of the bodies on the street. _Please say that they're not-_

"There we go," Claus said. Turning to Lucas. "That arrow's still stuck in your body. I'll need to pull it out for you to use Lifeup again."

"You killed them, didn't you?" Lucas whispered.

Lucas dragged himself over and took the pulse of the closest gang members, ignoring the sharp pain in his leg. None of them showed signs of life. In that moment, Lucas felt so small, so powerless. Why couldn't he have done anything to stop this?

"You killed _all_ of them," Lucas said in horror. "You're horrible, Claus."

" _I'm_ horrible?" Claus asked. "They were the ones who shot you."

"So you kill all of them?" Lucas asked. "I can't believe this."

"I was just trying to protect you."

"Well, maybe I don't want you to kill random people just because one of them shot me!" Lucas shouted. "Maybe I don't want you to protect me, Claus. I can handle myself. I do have PSI just like you."

"You would have let them shoot you again," Claus said with a snort.

"Stop trying to make excuses for yourself!" Lucas yelled. "You're no better than President Carpainter!"

Lucas' satisfaction at seeing the shocked look on Claus' face allowed him to push down his fear. He wouldn't give into his brother's whims another time!

"Take that back," Claus demanded.

"No!"

Claus walked up and slapped Lucas' face. The betrayal stung more than the pain.

"I said _take that back,_ " Claus hissed.

"Why should I listen to you?" Lucas asked. "You never really cared about me. If you did, you wouldn't act like this."

"I did _everything_ for you!" Claus shouted. "I should have left you behind a long time ago! You're worthless, but I took you in because you're my brother. I kept you safe."

"Claus," Lucas said, sounding more confident than he felt. "Stop yelling at me."

"What makes you think that you can boss me around?" Claus asked.

"You do it to me all the time."

"That's for your own good."

"And this is for _your_ own good," Lucas said, fighting back his panic.

"I can't _believe_ you!" Claus roared. "I do everything for you, and this is what I get?"

Claus drove a fist into Lucas' stomach. Lucas barfed inside of his mouth and forced the acid back down his throat.

"I've had enough of this," Claus said, the disgust in his voice shaming Lucas. "Now come along and don't make me force you."

Claus took a step towards Lucas, standing over him like a titan. Lucas shrunk back, trying his best to maintain his composure.

 _Powerless._

 _Betrayed._

 _Worthless._

Those words echoed through Lucas' mind.

 _Only one way out of this._

Lucas yanked the arrow out of his leg with an explosion of blood. He closed the wound with Lifeup PSI.

"Are you trying to prove to me that you're strong by healing yourself?" Claus asked. "Because it takes a lot more than that to-"

Without really knowing what he was doing, Lucas pulled Amourus, the knife that Claus had given him months earlier, out of its hilt. He took a moment to admire the brilliant, pink gem in the knife's hilt that contained his mother's soul.

Lucas rammed the knife into Claus' chest.

The knife bounced right off of Claus' breastplate and sent Lucas recoiling, but that didn't stop Claus' jaw from dropping and his eyes from widening.

"You…" Claus whispered. "You tried to kill me."

"I'll do worse if you don't leave me!" Lucas shouted, pointing Amourus at Claus. "Go away! Leave Aphrodite. I never want to see your face ever again. And while you're at it, take this knife." Lucas tossed Amourus at Claus' feet. "I don't want it."

"Just where do you think that you're going to go?" Claus asked. "You're helpless without me!"

"I'm going to find Kumatora," Lucas said. "She deserves to escape too."

"You'll die!"

"Maybe," Lucas said. "But better dead than alive with you."

Lucas didn't even bother to look at Claus' reaction before turning around. Now that the world was ending, he realized how little his fear and guilt really mattered. He had lived under Claus' thumb for years. The least that he could do was to exercise some freedom during what would probably be the last day of his life.

"Lucas," Claus whispered, his voice pained. "You don't mean that."

Lucas started walking away.

"Lucas? Can you hear me?"

Oh, Lucas could hear him, all right. He just didn't give a damn.

"Lucas, please! I'm sorry!"

Lucas didn't even slow down. Claus continued to shout and beg, and Lucas pushed down all of the shame that came with abandoning his brother. Claus had been asking for it ever since their mom died. Lucas continued to walk away into the sunset.

He didn't look back once.


	23. Interlude: Poo

**Hey, everyone! I got school off today because it was a teacher grading day or whatever. But I'm still updating this kind of late because... reasons. :P**

 **This is Poo's interlude, and it's not quite as dark as the others.**

 **...But it comes a little close.**

 **I don't want to say too much more about it because my writing should mostly speak for itself (and besides, you guys might see this chapter in a totally different way than I do), so let's move onto the review responses. :) As always, reviews for this chapter would super helpful and awesome! :D**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Ah, sorry about your brother. But yeah, Claus did some pretty nasty things to Lucas in this chapter and before. The first Lucas interlude showed a little bit of that, and now we have Claus being an all-around meanie face. And then there's the third Lucas interlude that I have planned... ;) But that's looking pretty far towards the future. Yeah, I was hoping to create an unhealthy relationship between the two (that just sounds terrible now that I type it out haha). See you! :)

 **Phoesong:** My response to your review was so obnoxiously long that I sent it through PM instead. :)

 **A Fan:** Lucky. :/ I still have another week left of school. But hey, missing chapters isn't a big deal. :) It's really interesting that you compare Tracy and Lucas because the comparison of Lucas and Ness would come more easily to my mind (they both feel overpowered/bullied by a sibling). But yeah, everything that you're saying makes a lot of sense. Tracy and Lucas are both filling roles that they absolutely despise. They look towards the future and realize that they can't keep it up, so they lash out. It's definitely true that both Claus and Ness are psychologically scarred, and that they are similar in a lot of ways. While their personalities are quite different, they've both been through a lot of the same things. I guess everyone in this story is just super angry haha. But yeah, thanks for that analysis. You have some pretty neat things to say. :)

 **crabbyTomato:** So just a couple hours after posting the last chapter, I could see your review. :/ I didn't want to update it for fear that you might miss it, so I'll respond to the last part of the last review here.

Ah, thanks! I'm a little surprised since many of the details about this chapter came from personal experience and the whole fear of poverty thing didn't, but I'm glad that part held meaning nonetheless. :) Indeed, many people in her situation wouldn't even have tried to care about Aphrodite in the midst of their personal problems. And yeah, not-so-subtle coverup, huh? :P

Now onto the actual review...

Yay, this one didn't get cut off! :D The funny thing about my journalism teacher is that he's super wacky liberal and not religious at all (I think), and he does believe in evolution (pretty sure). But for some reason, he just doesn't believe in dinosaurs. I'm a little scared that he'll come on and read this, but the chances are pretty much zero, so...

Ah, I see. So maybe I could be an engineer if I wanted to (I still don't, even though some of it sounds fun). I feel like I underestimate myself a little in that area because of how competitive my school is. I hear people talking in the halls like "Oh person X is really good at math because they're in geometry in 9th grade" and I just think "Not that what math class you're in determines your level of intelligence in that area, but I knew someone who knew a lot of number theory and stuff by the time that he was eight. He was forced to slow down and take Calculus when he was 12 (the horrors!) and said that it was one of the easiest things he's ever done." I tend to compare myself to people like him. xD

Yeah, Fassad's accusations have a little more than just a grain of truth; Claus is a flat-out terrible brother to Lucas. And they're not just supposed to be twins; they actually _are_ twins. ;) All joking aside, your analysis of their relationship is spot on. I tried to make it pretty obvious that things were not okay between them. D: Although I do find it funny how you compare a nuclear assault to a cake and a gang attack to a cherry. xD It's a valid metaphor, but it's not what I would expect. Yep, a little switch of views on Lucas' part. Yeah, I'm sure that there were times when Lucas regretted leaving Claus, but I think that he approved of his own decision overall. :)

Haha yeah I needed to come up with some justification for faster than light info transfer so I figured why not use the same justification for psionics? Thus we have the psionic plane of existence with its own set of laws and fundamental forces that I'm too lazy to make up. It's a nice little way to get around relativity. :) Take that, Einstein! :D Yeah, Minerva wasn't in a great state of mind herself. It's the constant struggle between cold pragmatism and emotion in a leader that exists in like every fantasy book ever (except for Lord of the Rings because Aragorn's just like "leading is dumb," and then he's like "leading is fine," and I reacted like "wha...?"). Yes, I'd agree that venting definitely played a part in her admission. There are times when she's kind of talking to herself, implying that she just wants to get it out no matter who she's talking to. See you later! :)

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** Whoops, I wrote this AN a while ago and forgot to add the response to your review before publishing it (although for some reason I did remember to comment on how late I posted the chapter). Yeah, Claus was pretty screwed up in the interlude. Thankfully, he's made quite the improvement in the actual storyline. :) Ah, thanks! It's good to know that you're still following this story. :D

* * *

 **One year ago:**

Prince Poo of Dalaam walked through the village of Suzhin in the middle of the night, wearing a cloak to hide his face. Because of the village's small size, anyone Poo met would probably notice that he was an outsider. The night helped to hide his features, but it also made it harder to explain what he was doing if someone caught him. The occasional wanderer passed through the town during the day, but only thieves, rapists, and murderers skulked around in the dead of the night. Poo did not wish to be labeled as any of those.

He closed his eyes, concentrating to maintain a focused mind. Poo's Mu allowed him to detect subtle movements that would indicate a person trailing behind him. On this starless night, his psionic senses would allow him to see better than his eyes.

…With a few exceptions. Poo couldn't detect anything that wasn't moving. He remembered trying awkwardly to explain to servants in the castle why he sometimes walked straight into walls during his Mu training. Here in an unknown village, the consequences of crashing into a house and making a scene would be far worse.

Poo took quick peeks with his eyes to make locate stationary objects as he skirted around the village. He arrived at a house that he recognized, sighing in relief. He spotted candlelight flickering in one of the house's cramped rooms, indicating that not everyone was asleep. Even better.

Poo walked up and knocked on the door. He knew that his appearance this late in the night would give him the aura of a beggar, but he wasn't as afraid as most Dalaamians were to soil his pride.

The door creaked partially open. Poo spotted a person looking out of the crack in the door, and his Mu-enhanced senses identified the individual as his half-brother Xiyen.

"Who are you and why are you here in the middle of the night?" Xiyen asked.

Poo took his hood off. Xiyen's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets.

"Poo?" He asked. "What are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be up in the capital?"

"I ran away," Poo said.

"And you went all of the way down the mountain by yourself?" Xiyen asked. "You must be exhausted."

"That… is pretty close to how I feel right now," Poo admitted. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure, sure," Xiyen said. "Come inside! It's been ages since we've seen each other."

Poo nodded, and the door swung open to reveal Xiyen's full body. Naturally, Xiyen wore an easygoing smile that all of Dalaam ridiculed him for. Dalaamian society dictated that anyone expressive about their contentment or relaxation simply didn't have enough work on their plate. Poo knew that Xiyen worked just as hard as anyone else, but the poor boy received stern lectures about the value of hard work from just about everyone.

Poo stepped inside of the house and closed the door behind him, releasing a sigh of relief. Even though he knew deep down that a shelter wouldn't protect him from his pursuers, it was nice to have that illusion.

"As you can see, we don't have a whole lot to offer," Xiyen said, gesturing at the simple, wooden chairs and table in the room. "Certainly nothing fit for a prince. I must apologize for that."

"You know me, Xiyen," Poo said. "I'm human first and prince second."

"Mm hmm," Xiyen said, a smile coming to his lips. "That drives our father crazy."

"Speaking of father…" Poo said. "He's actually chasing me right now."

"Yeah, I figured that he wouldn't just let his only son run off without putting up a fight," Xiyen said. "Excuse me, his only _legitimate_ son."

Poo looked for traces of bitterness in Xiyen's face and found none.

"Ah, I'm not jealous," Xiyen said. "He puts you through a lot, especially now that you're a psion and all. How's that going?"

"Not well," Poo said with a grimace. "Every one of the nobles utterly despises me, including father. I hoped that they would soften up a little since the empire isn't around anymore, but…"

"But they still hate psionics with an undying passion," Xiyen said with a smirk. "It's just part of their charm, brother."

"Charming is not quite how I would describe most of them," Poo said. "Imagine the day when one of them cares more about morality than their own image."

"I think that the Earth will have frozen over by then!" Xiyen said. "But I already know how the nobility frustrates you. Tell me, why did you run away?"

"Father told me that I'm going to take his place once he kicks the bucket," Poo said.

"You're just learning this _now?_ " Xiyen asked. "You're the crown prince, bro. It's kind of in your name."

"I'm not done," Poo said. "He wants me to replace him, but he's worried that the nobility won't like me as a ruler because I can use psionics, which makes me seem more Eagleish or Ceresian."

"Yes, curse those pale-skinned devils!" Xiyen said, mimicking the haughty voice of a Dalaamian noble. "We'll die before giving into our common sense and accepting their ways for what they are!"

"Right," Poo said. "That sentiment. So father wants me to meet up with a bunch of foreign leaders and piss them off to show Dalaam that I don't work for them."

"Doesn't surprise me," Xiyen said. "Father always had a few dozen plans up his sleeve in case anyone ever wounds his precious pride."

"I told him that I wouldn't do it," Poo said. "When I become king, I want to forge a Dalaam that embraces the outside universe instead of shoving it away."

"Good luck with that one."

"You're not helping."

"Hey," Xiyen said with a stupid grin. "Not helping is what I do best!"

"Duly noted," Poo muttered, although he couldn't help but smile back. "Needless to say, father didn't appreciate me making a decision for myself."

"What would Confucius say if he saw you, young man?" Xiyen asked, mimicking their father's voice.

Poo cringed. Xiyen's imitation was a little too realistic.

"Yes, I got a two hour lecture on filial piety," Poo grumbled. "He threatened me with all sorts of nasty punishments. I honestly think that he would kill me if he had another son to take my place."

"Ahem," Xiyen said.

"You know what I mean," Poo said, rolling his eyes. "You're his son, but you're…"

"I'm a bastard," Xiyen said. "You can say it. I don't mind. You're probably right, though. The old snake probably would kill you to appease the nobles if he could stick another trueborn son on the throne. I guess that's one thing for you to be glad about."

"Yep," Poo said, a sneer coming to his face. "Cheers to the fact that my mother died during childbirth. It seems so sinister to say that."

"Yeah," Xiyen said. "Morbid stuff. Whenever I'm feeling a little jealous of you, I just remind myself that at least I get to see my mother every day."

 _That's not necessarily a good thing, though…_ Poo thought.

"After father lectured me for a couple of hours, I decided to run off," Poo said. "And now I'm here."

"So where are you planning to go?" Xiyen asked. "I don't think that you want to spend the rest of your life in this village."

"I don't know," Poo said. "Right now, I'm just focusing on getting away from the mountain. It's not easy with General Kim on my heels, though."

Xiyen's smile disappeared in an instant.

"Kim's chasing you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Poo muttered. "I can't stand that guy."

"You're not safe here, then," Xiyen said, "And neither are we. If Kim suspects that you might be here, he'll check every house in the entire village. If he finds out that we're housing you, then he'll probably skewer us on the spot. It's probably better for both of us if you leave."

"Kim would really do that?" Poo asked, although the question was mostly rhetorical. He already knew the answer from Xiyen's dead-serious tone.

"The man's nasty when he wants to be," Xiyen said. "And because this is a small village with no real political power, he can do whatever he wants and nobody will care. I hate to kick you out in the middle of the night, but…"

"It's all right," Poo said. "I wouldn't want to risk your lives for something like this anyway. I wouldn't even have shown up if I knew that I was putting you in danger."

"Thanks for understanding," Xiyen said, relaxing visibly. "It's really easy to talk to you about stuff like this, you know? Not everyone can see outside of their own skin."

 _Not everyone in Dalaam, at least…_ Poo thought. _Most of the foreigners that I've met are more self-aware._

"Now," Xiyen said with a yawn. "I've been up late studying math because my mom wants to send me to school somewhere. I don't think that I could stay awake another five minutes if I tried."

"Get some rest," Poo said. "Trust me, you'll function better after a full night's sleep."

"Try telling that to _her._ " Xiyen chuckled. "Good night, Poo."

"Good night."

Xiyen yawned again and walked into another room. Poo walked over to exit the house, surprised and touched that Xiyen trusted him enough to leave on his own. As he was about to open the door, he heard footsteps shuffling towards him.

"I heard everything."

Poo turned around, finding himself facing a woman draped in cotton robes.

"Suyin," Poo said. "It's been a while, has it not?"

"Why did you come here, _prince_ of Dalaam?" the woman asked, her lips forming into a sneer. "You have an entire palace full of servants to attend to your every whim. What brings you to our little village?"

"I thought that you heard everything," Poo said with a bloodless smile. "I wish to escape Dalaam. My father wants to set me against the rest of the universe, and I refuse to take part in his schemes."

"You _are_ bratty, even for a prince," Suyin said. "I suppose that you feel no shame for disobeying your father?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Hmph. The man was too soft on you." _And too hard on everyone else,_ her eyes seemed to say.

"I'm sorry for how he treated you and Xiyen," Poo said, gritting his teeth, "But that really isn't my fault."

"Who said anything about me?" Suyin asked. "You're the one running away!"

"Please. I can't stand it when people pretend that their interests are selfless. Your bitterness towards my father is justified. Don't you think that I talked to him about how he treated his other sons? Why do you think that he bought gifts for Xiyen at all? I'm sure you know that he's not the philanthropic sort of man."

"You lie," Suyin said. "But that's to be expected, growing up spoiled. You need to learn respect for your father."

"You say that, even after you know what he does?" Poo asked. "How he charms young women and leaves them once he gets bored? You're not the only one bearing the consequences of that, you know."

"It is not your place to question him!"

"Whatever," Poo said. "Like you implied, I shouldn't really be here. I don't belong with regular people like you. So I'll leave and you'll probably never hear from me again. How does that sound?"

"Do that," Suyin said. "I would never want such an ungrateful boy in my village. Xiyen has to work on the farm all day and spend his nights studying so that he can get a decent education somewhere. Meanwhile, you never had to work for _anything._ "

"Well," Poo said. "I wouldn't worry too much about your son. Xiyen seems pretty happy with his lot in life, which is more than I can say for either than us. I think that we could both learn a thing or two from him."

"And there's the disrespect again," Suyin said. "I never want to see your face again, not after you insulted me directly in my own house."

"Fine," Poo said. "I was on my way out anyways."

Poo swung the door open, stepped outside, and slammed it behind him. He sighed in frustration, knowing that the anger would disrupt his Mu abilities but not finding the will to care.

"It's going to be a long night," Poo said to himself.

He closed his eyes and activated his Mu senses once more, tracking the general location of human minds in the village. He ran out of the village, not bothering to hide himself as his cloak swayed in the wind and tears of anger blurred his vision. Once he got out of the village, he kept running. He didn't know where he would go, but he couldn't risk staying in one place. Not when General Kim might kill anyone associated with his escape.

Now that Poo thought about it, he wasn't really surprised that Kim would go to such lengths. The man always treated others with respect… so long as he knew that important people were watching. True to Dalaamian nature, though, his public courtesies didn't match his private desires. Not even close. When Poo got bored, he would often spy on various nobles during their visits. When Kim thought that nobody else was looking, he would drop his respectful attitude, clench his fists, and complain about all of the problems that he had to face. The man was basically an active volcano waiting to erupt.

How could Poo face someone like that? He preferred not to confront people to start with, and now that he knew about Kim's dangerous side… Poo sighed and let his shoulders drop. General Kim didn't like Poo, so he would probably bring along extra soldiers to apprehend the prince. Poo didn't think that he could fight Kim alone, much less with soldiers guarding him.

 _Just keep running,_ Poo thought. _I must make it out of Dalaam._

But even once he escaped his homeland, where would he go? Would he fade into obscurity and live the rest of his days out alone? Would he try to seek asylum in the Federation of Eagleland to the west? The first option left a sour taste in Poo's mouth, and the second option was close to impossible. From what little he knew of politics, Poo guessed that most Eagleish leaders would be more than happy to return a runaway prince to his father. He could head to Scaraba, but with all of the open conflict…

And that was assuming that he got away. How would he even manage to do that? Sooner or later, someone would recognize him.

Poo reached under his tunic and felt the jewel bound to his chest. So long as he wore the gem, he couldn't use any of the teleportation psionics that he learned from his visits to Eagleland. Unfortunately, the only person who could take off the gem was his father.

It would have been so much easier if Poo could have teleported anywhere he wanted. If he could choose, he would probably head over to America. Less politically unified and less technologically advanced than the Eaglelish, most Americans wouldn't recognize Poo, nor would they care.

But then again, Poo heard rumors that the Americans were especially racist. Considering that they wiped out most of the natives on the eastern half of the country, Poo wasn't about to discount that claim.

Perhaps he should have considered his lack of good options before leaving… No, Poo wouldn't fault himself for this decision. His father's plan was _wrong._ No amount of practicality would ever change that.

Poo yawned. Even in his alerted Mu state, he knew that he couldn't stay awake for much longer. He resolved to lie down in a patch of grass, fall asleep, and hope that nobody would find him. His Mu powers would allow him to fend off any bandits who decided to approach him, assuming that they didn't slit his throat while he slept. And Kim might find him, but what were the odds? Nobody would think to look for him in the middle of nowhere. The night's winds might chill his bones, but he would live.

Right as Poo was about to lie down, he saw a nearby patch of grass catch fire. Fumbling for focus amidst his pounding heart and panicked state, Poo turned on his Mu senses and detected two humans ahead. Even stranger, Poo detected a number of creatures ahead who didn't appear human to his Mu senses. They didn't even seem like other animals. Something about them was too… artificial.

Poo didn't waste another second. He leapt onto his feet, squinting through the firelight to see the two humans that he detected and a number of blob-shaped humanoids. Poo dashed forward, nearly crashing into one of the people who was running away from the fire. She halted right before reaching him, a cloak obscuring most of her body. In the dim light of the fire, he made out surprised, blue eyes and short, pink hair. Both of those characteristics labeled her as a clear foreigner, but Poo had never heard of pink hair existing naturally anywhere.

"Who the psych are you?" the girl hissed. "Get out of my way!"

She shoved Poo aside and ran past him.

"After her!" A woman shouted.

Poo managed to leap out of the way as a horde of blob-like creatures carrying green, transparent swords chased after the girl, led by a red-haired woman with pale skin. What in the world were two foreigners doing so deep in Dalaam? Poo wondered if he was dreaming.

Poo's Mu senses alerted him to something… odd about the humans. He squinted his eyes by reflex, realizing only then how strongly these two people came up on his senses. That didn't make any sense. Why would foreigners register so strongly to his Mu?

 _No,_ Poo thought. _This also happened during the awakening in Onett._

These people didn't shine brightly to Poo's Mu senses because they were foreigners.

They shone brightly to his senses because they were psions.

Poo's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't encountered any psions since the awakening last year. That left him with numerous questions about how psionics worked.

Poo looked at the girl running away from the woman and the blob-humanoids in pursuit. Maybe now wasn't the best time for questions about psionics.

He took off after the woman and the girl, not exactly sure what he would do if he caught up to them. After a few seconds, Poo heard the thundering of hooves in the distance.

 _Horsemen?_ He thought. _But who would come all the way out here?_

Deep down in his heart, Poo knew who it was. He dropped down and hid in the grass as a small army of Dalaamian cavalry rushed by. Poo spotted a chariot rounding out the rear. General Kim stood inside next to a pair of archers. As the chariot passed by, General Kim looked in Poo's direction and smiled.

Nausea gripped Poo, rendering him unable to act. Did the general know where he was? Why was even here? Poo was certain that he had laid enough false trails and taken enough minor roads that nobody would be able to follow him. Maybe this _was_ just a bad dream… or a hallucination.

Poo peeped his head around the grass, spotting the Dalaamian cavaliers surrounding the girl, woman, and bloblike humanoids. Two of the blob humanoids held the girl's arms behind her back.

"State your presence here, foreigners," General Kim said in Eagleish, his harsh voice causing Poo to flinch. "I am Kim See-Yoon, general of the Dalaamian royal army."

"I'm just trying to run away from this crazed woman," the girl snapped, struggling to free herself from the blob humanoids. "But it looks like I failed at that, huh?"

"I'm here on the orders of President Carpainter of Ceres," the red-haired woman said, her oversweet smile sending a chill down Poo's spine. "Here, have a look at this, good sir."

The woman pulled out a piece of parchment from under her cloak. She made a hand motion, whispered a word under her breath, and the paper disappeared and appeared in Kim's hands. Teleportation psionics, Poo recognized. Did all foreigners use their powers so flippantly?

"Hmm," Kim said. "Juno Monotoli, huh? Your family is quite famous."

The woman beamed. Weren't foreigners supposed to care _less_ about their heritage?

"Well," Kim said. "I cannot say that I approve of this, but I harbor no ill will against President Carpainter."

"That is a wise choice," Monotoli said. "After all, she's the most powerful individual in the entire universe. I must apologize _profusely_ for this unannounced entry of your lands. I didn't know where the child would end up, you see?"

"An out of control wilder, yes?" Kim asked, looking at the paper. "Already burned down a village? Wow. This is why we Dalaamians do not trust you Ceresians and your psionics."

"Yes, our system does not always work," Monotoli said. "We're trying to fix it right now."

"Liar!" The girl shouted. "Do I look like I even come from Earth? I'm a refugee from Aphrodite, and Carpainter wants to silence me once and for all. This bitch took me to a lab on Vulcan and drained all of my psionic power to use as energy to power Ceresian cities. She put me in a coma so that I would work frantically to produce psionic power and then she would use that power for more energy!" The girl gasped for breath after the panicked, nonstop speech.

"See?" Monotoli asked with a snort. "Look at what lies she comes up with. Who would ever believe that?"

"Agreed," Kim said with a curt nod. Turning to the girl, "What's your name, child?"

"Kumatora," she spat. "And I can't believe that you're falling for her lies."

"To be perfectly honest," Kim said. "I don't care what you Ceresians do to each other so long as you stay out of our way. You and your psionics are… unclean." Kim sniffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm not even a Ceresian!" Kumatora shouted. "I come from Aphrodite!"

"So, you are free to go," Kim said to Monotoli, pointedly ignoring Kumatora. "But before you warp away with your witchcraft, I need to do something. Grab the prince!"

Kim pointed straight at Poo. Up until this time, he had planned to wait in the grass until the whole incident blew over, but he needed to act now. Poo broke into a sprint away from Kim as horses galloped behind him. He detected about a dozen of them barreling towards him with his Mu senses. His heart dropped into his stomach. With his Mu-enhanced martial arts, he could probably take three or four of them, _maybe_ five or six. But a dozen? Why even try?

Poo skidded to a halt.

"I surrender," he said. "You win, Kim."

"I'm glad that you can see the inevitable," Kim said. "Such a refreshing change."

The cavaliers lead Poo over to Kim, leaving him unrestrained. Being a Dalaamian prince awarded Poo a certain level of respect that most other enemies wouldn't receive.

"Listen," Kim told Poo in Dalaamian. "I don't want the foreigners to know that I know, but the girl is right. President Carpainter runs a number of labs on Vulcan where she employs… dubious tactics to get what she wants. It's a fact that she hides well from her people. That girl is about to suffer a fate worse than death once she heads back to Vulcan."

"Then how can you justify letting Monotoli take her away?" Poo asked back in Dalaamian.

"Don't act so surprised," Kim said with a chuckle. "Like I said, I really do not care in the slightest what foreigners do to each other. I just wanted to show you this so that you realize something." Kim leaned in and whispered into his hear. "You think that Dalaam is hell. You think that our system allows for corrupt nobles to do whatever they want, usually to the detriment of public interest. You're right. But if you think that anywhere, and I mean _anywhere,_ is different, then you're far stupider than I could have ever imagined."

Poo recoiled, shooting Kim a disgusted look.

"I used to be not so different from you," Kim said. "I thought that I could make a difference. Guess what? I couldn't. You can't. At some point, you have to call it quits and start taking orders. For you, that day needs to be today. If this happens again…" Kim gestured towards Kumatora. "You might end up like her."

"That's ridiculous!" Poo shouted in Eagleish. "I… can't believe that you're letting them take that girl away."

"So you believe me?" Kumatora asked, her head perking up.

"Yes," Poo said.

"Please," Kumatora asked. "Can't you help me? If they're working on the same side," Kumatora pointed to Kim and Monotoli. "Can't we band together as well? If you can free me from these ectoplasmic soldiers, then we can make a run for it."

The archers in Kim's chariot nocked arrows and pointed them at Kumatora.

 _"The arrows won't kill me,"_ Kumatora said telepathically. _"I'm a wilder, remember? My psionic aura will protect me."_

"Please?" Kumatora asked out loud.

"If you help her," Kim said in Dalaamian, "You're going to Vulcan with her to live the rest of your life out in a coma."

"I'm… sorry," Poo said, turning away. "There's no possible way that we can fight all of them at once. Besides, even if we did escape, they would just follow us. What would you do against a horde of cavaliers?"

"Burn them to a crisp," Kumatora said. "Call down an asteroid to crush them. I'll think of something. Just get me out of here, please!"

Poo looked back at Kumatora. Her eyes begged him for help. He knew that if he didn't aid her, Monotoli would condemn her to a life as a battery cell…

But if he tried to help, it wouldn't change anything.

"I'm sorry," Poo whispered.

In the instant after he spoke those two words, Poo knew that the look of betrayal on Kumatora's face would haunt him for years to come.

"You're no different from the rest of them," Kumatora hissed. "If you don't take a stand against them, you might as well be working for them. I can't _believe_ that you're leaving me like this, even though you believe what I say!"

"May I go now?" Monotoli asked, seeming unfazed by the entire conversation.

Kim nodded, his expression neutral.

"Psych you!" Kumatora shouted. "Psych you all! Especially you, prince of Dalaam. I've never met anyone so cowardly in my goddamn psyching _life!_ "

Her words stung more than Poo let on.

"It's over, isn't it?" Kumatora asked, her shoulders slouching. "I'm done. I don't want to stop living… not while I have so much left to do. But it's all over." Kumatora bit her lip. "No more sunrises. No more sunsets. No more time for the good and the bad. Minerva Carpainter will take away even that from me."

"Teleport," Monotoli said, touching Kumatora's arm.

Monotoli, Kumatora, and the blob-humanoids vanished from sight.

"None of you wanted to stop that?" Poo asked to the cavaliers. "None of you felt anything for the girl?"

"Please," Kim said. "They're soldiers. Good ones. There isn't enough room in their heart for compassion towards the enemy."

"The outside world isn't our enemy!"

"Oh, but it is," Kim said, flashing a toothy smile. "Dalaam has always viewed outsiders as lesser beings, same as every other culture."

"Just because it's always been that way doesn't mean that it's right," Poo muttered, not intending for Kim to hear.

"I said nothing about right or wrong," Kim said. "Only that it has always been that way and that it will always be that way. Didn't we just establish that you're powerless to change a damn thing? If you can't even save a damsel in distress like in those western fables, how do you think that you can change a viewpoint that Dalaamians have held for millennia?"

Poo didn't have a response for that. He glared at Kim nonetheless.

"Come on," Kim said. "Let's head back to the castle. Your father's waiting for you."

"And if I resist?" Poo asked.

"Then we'll play this game for a little longer," Kim answered with a cruel smile. "But you still won't be able to change a damn thing."


	24. Chapter 19: Psionic Savant

**SCHOOOL'S OUT! ...Well, at least for me. I feel really bad for you peeps who are still stuck in school. :( Although hopefully school isn't** ** _that_** **bad, right? Better than the jobs we would get if we dropped out haha... at least for us high school students.**

 **And we finally get back to the main story! Hopefully you guys read the interludes, especially the Lucas one since it's referenced in this chapter. Although I don't think that many people are still with me after 300k words of a slow/confusing plot. Whoops. :x**

 **Also, I'm seeing Civil War today, and I don't know how to feel. On the one hand, I've heard that it's really good and I think I'll love it but on the other hand I don't really approve of Disney cranking out movies like widgets in a factory. Eh... maybe I'm just overthinking it. xD**

 **As always, reviews are greatly appreciated! :) I'd especially like to see what you guys think about this chapter because it was honest to goodness terrible before I edited it. I don't know how much my edits helped, but anything would be better than what I originally had. xD**

* * *

 **Review Response:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Yeah, I was meaning to address all of the characters' backstories much sooner since I was expecting Ceres to be not a full trilogy. That's what happens, though. A lot of mystery stuff just kind of fades away for a while (like Pokey's death). The third person trapped in the labs is similar where it won't be discussed for a while, but it will definitely pop up later. Yeah, Juno is the person after Kumatora both in this interlude and in the main story (not a super huge spoiler since I'm pretty sure it comes out next chapter). Thanks! :) Yeah, people on a large scale are pretty much the same wherever and whenever. It's my belief that generational differences come pretty much entirely from the circumstances of the society that they're born in. Like there are all these stats that say that our generation gets into less trouble and is less bigoted than other generations (assuming that you're part of my generation), which I attribute to the internet. It provides a connection with the outside world that means we don't have to cause trouble to get our fun. Thanks for reviewing every chapter and see you later! :)

* * *

 **Part Four: Bound for Earth**

 **Fragmented Memories: Minerva, ? A.F, Ceres**

* * *

 **Note:** It's probably obvious to everyone why I chose Minerva for this round of fragmented memories, but I do think that her words hold value for other people as well. She changed when she became president, and it wasn't because of her newfound power. She built up a stone barrier to protect herself from outside influences, but even stone crumbles and collapses under the force of an earthquake. Maybe she should have allowed herself to bend rather than stand stiff.

Regardless, please don't judge her too harshly. She's suffered enough.

-D.C; A.A.

* * *

 _Every day, my patience wanes._

 _I came into this position as president expecting that I could change the world. I knew that I would face barriers in the form of highly orthodox ex-nobles, but I believed in my ability to push through and overcome their prejudice. I still do, I guess._

 _But now that I'm president, I can see just how shitty this world is. On Vulcan, Ceres seemed like a utopia. Now that I'm here, I realize that it's not so different._

 _I believe that this greater perspective, rather than notions of power, is what turns so many good leaders bad. It takes an extraordinary kind of mind to remain logical when faced with the problems of the entire planet._

 _And finding someone who stays compassionate as well as logical? I'm not sure if that's physically possible._

* * *

Ness started awake in his bed, panting heavily. Was he safe? He took a look around the barracks on Vulcan and sighed in relief.

"Hey there," Ninten said, bending over Ness' bed. "Nice to see you up and about. You were out of it for a few days. Ann started to get worried; she insisted on watching over you like a hawk. You know how she can get."

"The murderer," Ness said. "We need to stop him!"

"Already done."

"So… he's dead? Captured?"

"Neither. But he won't hurt anyone again in the near future. You can ask Claus for the details."

"Claus? Why him?"

"He and Mars basically turned the murderer back into a regular person." He looked Ness straight in the eye. "Claus told me that he had help from a friend in a place called Magicant."

Ness felt his cheeks redden. How did everyone always manage to learn his secrets so quickly?

"Is that why you fell asleep on the horse?" Ninten asked. "You travelled to the dream world?"

"Basically, yeah," Ness whispered. "Sorry about that."

"Ah, psych that." Ninten waved his hand dismissively. "You probably saved Claus' life and none of us got hurt."

"But one of you _could_ have gotten hurt."

"I suppose that's true." Ninten cocked his head. "But it's still fine. You tried your hardest to save a friend. That counts for something, right?"

"I guess…" Ness fidgeted with his hands. "I just feel so bad for putting you in danger."

"Man, and people call _me_ a pessimist!" Ninten said with a grin. "You need to cheer up a bit. We won!"

Now that Ness thought about it, Ninten did seem happier than usual. Was this the Ninten who Ana originally befriended all those years ago?

"I'll get Ann," Ninten said. "She'll want to know that you're awake. You should get some rest, all right?"

Ninten left the room whistling. Ness blinked and rubbed his eyes. Ninten? Whistle? He'd sooner expect a tree to burst out in song. Right after Ninten left, Claus and Mars appeared in the doorway.

"Look who's awake," Claus said. "Even _I_ was starting to get worried about how long you were out."

A smile came to Ness' face as Claus and Mars walked into the room. Mars shut the door behind him with a soft _click._

"Claus!" Ness exclaimed. "Ninten mentioned that you were alive, but…"

"I get it," Claus said. "It's different to see me in person with this goofy pirate-knight makeup."

Okay. Now _both_ Claus and Ninten were acting genuinely happy. Ness wondered if he was stuck in a dream.

"I'm just so glad that you're okay," Ness said.

Claus blushed and fumbled for words. Mars laughed and patted Claus on the back.

"Hello, Mars," Ness said, not sure how to address the rugged warrior. "I'm sorry for falling asleep on you."

"That's the first time I've heard that phrase used literally," Claus said.

"Well, he was technically flying through the air by the time that he actually fell asleep, so it wasn't technically _on_ me," Mars said. He glanced at Claus. "This place is private, yes?"

"Private enough," Claus replied. "If anyone sees you in your real form, you can just warp away and we'll say that you were detaining us."

"Fair enough," Mars said. "Polymorph self."

Mars' body transformed into another human rather than an animal. When Ness saw Mars' new face, his heart skipped a beat.

"Diana," Ness whispered, shying back. "It was you all along?"

Diana Carpainter shot Ness a glance of motherlike sympathy.

"I know that I still scare you to death," Diana said. "And I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to show you in person who I am. If you want, I can turn back into Mars…"

"It's fine," Ness whispered. "I need to face my fears anyway."

"I don't know if 'fine' is the right word," Claus said. "Your face is pale even by Vulcan standards."

"I'm fine," Ness repeated.

"Well, I appreciate your bravery," Diana said. "Most people in your situation would try to kill me."

"I probably would," Claus said.

"You actually _did_ try to kill me once," Diana replied, rolling her eyes.

"Doesn't count," Claus said. "I thought you were Minerva."

"You two go back a ways, huh?" Ness asked.

"Just like we do, yeah," Diana said. "You know the Shard of Ceres, right? The big fortress made of psionic crystal that supposedly contains all information in the universe?"

Ness nodded. The untold knowledge of the Shard of Ceres was locked behind a maze and a trial. Few who entered ever left.

"It's how I figured out what happened to Lucas after we separated on Aphrodite."

"Right," Diana said. "Claus and I were going there at the same time and he thought I was Minerva. You know how she exploded Aphrodite, right?"

Ness bit his lip. Ana had told him that information earlier. 150 million people dead or trapped on the now barren lands of Aphrodite. How could anyone do something so awful?

"Let's change the subject," Claus said, taking a shaky breath. "You helped free Lucas from Fassad's clutches, right?"

"Um… I didn't do a very good job of it, but kind of."

"Lucas told me about everything that you did for him," Claus said with a smile. "He says thank you. That comes from me as well."

"And me," Diana said.

Diana went through a detailed description of how they defeated Lucas. She explained how he killed Ceresian psions with frightening ease and then stopped right before killing Claus. She described how he acted when Fassad controlled his body, and how Lucas mostly returned to being a normal human once they removed the knife with Fassad's cognitive spirit in it.

"So why did Lucas only 'mostly' return to his normal self?" Ness asked.

"He's still a psionic savant, somewhat," Claus answered. After a pause, he frowned. "Have you heard that term before?"

"I don't think so," Ness said. "If I have, I don't remember what it means."

"Ever heard of regular savants?" Diana asked.

Ness shook his head.

"They're people who can do one specific thing extraordinarily well but are mentally retarded in all other areas," Diana said. "I heard of someone who could take a quick look at a picture containing thousands of dots and tell you exactly how many there were yet normally couldn't count to a hundred."

"You're kidding," Ness said.

"Their brains work in different ways than ours." Diana shrugged. "A psionic savant is someone like that except that their skill is using psionics in combat. Unlike normal savants, being a psionic savant isn't natural. It has to come from a long and specific treatment applied to the subject's brain."

"In this case, Minerva turned Lucas into a savant," Claus said, clenching his fists.

"His ability with psionics crowds out almost everything else in his brain. Emotion, memory… Even his vision becomes hazy."

"That sounds terrible," Ness said.

"The good thing is that it's reversible," Diana said. "If Lucas doesn't use psionics, his brain should eventually return to normal. I'm sure you agree that's a trade work making."

"Of course," Ness said. "Turning Lucas back into a regular human just by not having him use psionics? That's… wonderful."

"The thing is," Diana said. "We need someone to convince Lucas that he should stop using psionics. He's afraid of Claus and he doesn't trust me."

Claus looked down and shuffled his feet.

"So you want me to help him?" Ness asked.

"That's the idea, yeah," Claus said, his voice depressed. "I just wish that he trusted me…" Claus shook his head. "But that's my fault."

"What do you mean?" Ness asked.

"He didn't tell you?" Claus raised an eyebrow. "I treated him pretty miserably after our mom died."

"Oh. He did mention something along those lines. He-" Ness cut himself off.

"What?" Claus asked.

"He said that he wanted to kill you," Ness whispered.

"That's not surprising, considering that he _actually_ tried to kill me once."

"Really," Diana said. "I never heard about this one."

"It doesn't matter," Claus said. "The point is that he trusts Ness far more than either of us."

"Do you really think that he'll follow me?" Ness said.

"You have the best shot out of anyone," Claus said. "But… I don't know how stable Lucas is. He might do something dangerous."

"I'll be there to teleport you out if you need it," Diana said. "You won't be in any real danger."

 _Well, thanks,_ Ness thought dryly. _I guess I'll just stop being afraid now._

"I know that it's scary," Claus said. "Hell, it terrifies me, and I try to act like the tough guy. Don't feel like you have to do this."

"Just remember," Diana said. "Lucas needs your help now more than ever before."

"I'll do it," Ness said.

"That was quick," Claus said. "Are you sure?"

Ness nodded. He wanted to attribute his lack of hesitation to altruism, but he knew that wasn't entirely fair. Ness wanted to help Lucas to make a point that someone so broken could still be saved. If Lucas could return to his former self… Well, what was stopping Ness from doing the same?

"All right," Claus said. "Diana will teleport you over there. I assume that you trust her enough?"

"It won't hurt my feelings if you don't," Diana said. "After all, I nearly got you killed."

"No, I trust you," Ness said. "Deep down, you're a good person."

Diana threw her head back and laughed.

"Me? A good person? You're probably thinking of someone else. Good people don't join cults and murder hundreds of innocents."

"Your actions don't define who you are," Ness said. "You want to make this universe right."

"Yeah, but _wanting_ to do good doesn't change a damn thing," Diana said. "You ready to see Lucas?"

Ness hesitated this time before nodding.

"If you're sure," Diana said. "Teleport."

The world faded around Ness, reappearing as the entrance to a cave. The wind howled outside; Ness didn't spot anyone except for him or Diana. He turned back to the cave in front of him, trying not to think of the cave entrance as a mouth about to devour him. Because of the darkness inside, Ness couldn't tell how far it stretched.

"Lucas decided to camp out in this cave," Diana said. "He's probably sensed us, so he'll be here shortly."

Right after Diana finished speaking, Lucas emerged from the mouth of the cave. He wore the same, expressionless face as usual, but at least his physical appearance didn't change every second like in Magicant. As Lucas moved closer, Ness realized just how similar he looked to Claus. If not for the blonde hair, smaller frame, and an expression devoid of emotion, Ness probably would have mistaken Lucas for his brother.

"Ness," Lucas said, his voice monotone. "What are you doing with Diana?"

"Um…"

"Don't think of him as being _with_ me," Diana said. "I'm just a spectator."

"Are you worried that I'm going to attack him?"

"Yes," Diana said. "I'm not expecting any violence here, but you can never be too prepared."

 _W-What?_ Ness thought. _Don't tell him that!_

Ness turned frantically back to Lucas, who only offered a curt nod.

"Understandable," he said. "I trust myself about as much as you do."

He took careful steps towards Ness.

"Hmm," Lucas said. "You really _are_ him, inside and out."

"Yeah," Ness said, letting himself smile. "What were you expecting?"

"I don't know, but not this. Did Claus send you here?"

"Uh…"

"I brought him here," Diana said, "So no. Claus, Ness, and I all share the same cause, though."

Ness was surprised at how fluently Diana lied. It probably helped that most of her words rang true. She and Claus _did_ have the same agenda. In that context, Claus' absence from this plan would appear plausible.

"I see," Lucas said. "Ness, I'm not sure if I ever thanked you for your help back in Magicant. I don't know if your way of caring is the best, but you've managed to at least help me. That counts for something."

Ness blinked. Those words sounded like they could have come out of his mouth. Was this why Claus drew similarities between the two of them?

"You're welcome," Ness said. "I'm glad that you're letting me in. I don't know if I ever told _you_ this, but helping you helps me. Watching you overcome your problems gives me the confidence to overcome mine."

"Really," Lucas said, cocking his head. "I thought that you didn't have any problems."

Ness almost laughed out loud.

"But I guess that was… presumptuous on my part," Lucas said. "Hmm, that's a big word. I wonder where I picked that one up."

"Yeah, looks like your verbal skills are coming back to you," Diana said. "Makes me wonder if you'll sound like an Eagleish professor after you fully recover."

"What do you mean 'recover'?" Lucas asked.

Diana explained to Lucas the nature of psionic savants, ending with how Lucas could free himself by refraining from using psionics.

"…" Lucas took a step back, his eyes wary.

"What?" Ness asked. "What's wrong, Lucas? Don't you want to turn back to normal?"

"If I do, I'll be weak," Lucas said. "People like Claus will hurt me again. I won't let that happen."

"Lucas…"

"I won't!" Lucas sounded like a child during a tantrum.

"Lucas," Ness said. "I understand why you want to be strong. It's scary to think of people hurting you, isn't it?"

Lucas nodded, biting his lip.

"But please," Ness said. "Trust me on this one. You'll be so much happier if you get all of your emotion back. If you live a normal life, people will accept you."

"They'll hurt me," Lucas whispered. "People always hurt each other if they can."

 _So jaded…_ Ness thought. _But then again, he did witness the destruction of his planet._

"Would I hurt you if I could?" Ness asked. "Do you believe that about me?"

"…No," Lucas said. "But other people will."

"They'll try," Ness admitted, "But my friends and I will protect you. This is where you have to trust me. Please, Lucas, I know exactly how you feel. A year ago, I would have done anything if it made me stronger. But I found a group of people who really cared about me and now I'll never go back to thinking that might makes right. I can't describe it, but… when I'm with my friends, everything feels okay."

Lucas paused. Right as Ness was about to ask if Lucas heard him, the blonde spoke up.

"I did promise that I would trust you. So I guess I'll try things your way. I'll stop using psionics." Lucas' eyes narrowed. "But if I ever need to defend myself, I'll use my powers in an instant."

 _Good enough,_ Ness thought.

"Thank you for giving Ness a chance," Diana said. "Now, Ness and his friends are returning to Earth soon. Is it all right if I teleport you over there?"

"…" Lucas turned to Ness. "Do you trust this woman?"

"With my life," Ness said.

"I-" Diana cut herself off. "Thank you, Ness. I never knew that you trusted me that much."

Ness smiled. Like he said before, he knew that Diana was so much more than a cultist who killed hundreds on her father's orders. She would come through.

Diana's eyes narrowed, startling Ness. She slung her bow off her back and nocked an arrow. Ness didn't even have time to shout before she fired a flurry of arrows in Lucas' direction. The arrows flew forward into the cave…. and passed right over Lucas' shoulder, making soft _thuds_ as they landed into flesh behind him.

"Wha…?" Ness said.

Ness heard a body crumple to the ground.

"Illuminate," Diana hissed.

Light flooded deeper into the cave, allowing Ness to see a man skewered by a half-dozen of Diana's arrows.

"Hmph," Diana muttered. "Starman."

"Wait," Ness said. "You're saying that person is…?"

"A starman in disguise," Diana said. "Yeah, starmen actually disguise as humans. It amazed me to learn that my father wasn't making that whole thing up. The best lies have a kernel of truth, I suppose."

"How do you know that it's a starman?" Ness asked, looking at the corpse. "If it were, shouldn't it turn back into a starman after it dies?"

"I could tell from reading its mind," Diana said. "Starmen think in different ways than we do. And when I say that it's disguised as a human, I mean that it used psionics to turn its body into a human's. If I died as Mars, I wouldn't turn back into Diana after death."

"I'm just surprised that you found it," Lucas said. "It was standing right behind me and I couldn't sense it."

"Yeah, it did a pretty good job at hiding its aura," Diana said. "Although I wonder why it came here of all places."

"Lucas," Ness said. "You didn't use psionics to summon your armor, right? Even though it looked like Diana was shooting at you."

"You said that you trusted her with your life," Lucas said with a shrug. "So I decided to do the same. I did promise to not use my powers, after all."

"And a few arrows wouldn't have taken Lucas out," Diana said. "He probably knows that I'm not stupid enough to attack him in that situation even if I wanted to. So Lucas, are you okay if I teleport you back to Earth?"

"Sure," Lucas said. "It's not like I have anything to do here."

"I'll come along to show you around Earth," Diana said. "Since you're an outlaw now, you probably want to stay out of sight. Normally, a big city like Fourside would give you enough cover to keep you safe, but if a psion comes along and detects your aura…"

"Right," Lucas said. "I'm used to rural environments anyway. I think I'll feel more comfortable the further away I am from civilization."

"Well, that's a nice coincidence," Diana said. "I'll show you the ropes once we actually get there. But first, let me teleport Ness back to the barracks."

"Bye, Lucas," Ness said. "Let's try to meet up on Earth, all right?"

Lucas smiled. It was the first display of emotion on his face that made him seem wholly human.

"It's a deal," he said. "I'll be waiting for you."

Ness smiled back. Even standing atop a planet of abuse, both he and Lucas could still hold onto hope. Ness promised himself right then that he would never forget this feeling.

"Thank you for everything," Diana whispered to Ness. "You did more to help me and Lucas than either of us deserve. Teleport."

"You're welcome," Ness whispered back as the world faded around him.

* * *

Ness appeared back in his room in the barracks, spotting Ana and Claus talking to each other.

"Hey, guys," Ness said.

Ana's face lit up as she walked up and embraced Ness in a hug.

"Thank god that you came back," Claus said. "Ana was lecturing me about how I shouldn't have left you alone with a pair of mass murderers." Claus snorted. "Like I'm any better."

"Well, I'm glad that you're safe," Ana said, releasing Ness. "I just… worry about you sometimes. Seriously, though. Diana Carpainter? I can't believe that you trust her enough to take you to see Lucas."

"Claus trusts her," Ness said. "Right?"

"Yeah, more or less," Claus said.

Ness shot a glare at Claus.

"You trust her _more or less_?" Ana asked. "And you left Ness alone with her?"

"He wanted to go with her," Claus said with a shrug. "And you know how Ness is. When he gets a goal in his mind, I just want to cheer him on so much that I don't question the safety hazards."

"I… guess you're right," Ana said, her face softening. Turning back to Ness, "Just make sure that you're careful, all right? Remember, chasing down Lucas in the first place almost got you killed."

"Sorry," Ness said, grimacing.

"No need to apologize," Ana said. "So how did it go?"

"It went pretty well, all things considered," Ness said. He proceeded to explain what happened.

"Earth, huh?" Claus asked. "Lucas and I have never been there before. I think Kumatora has, though." Claus frowned. "I guess it doesn't matter. Thanks, Ness. I really appreciate your help with this. You should have been Lucas' twin brother, not me."

"Don't say that!" Ness protested. "I'm sure that you were fine."

 _Besides,_ he thought. _I turned into a wreck after going through less than what you did._

"Trust me," Claus said. "Lucas called me many things, and 'fine' was not one of them. But there's nothing that I can do about that anymore. Hey, Ana. We're going back to Ceres soon, right?"

Ana nodded.

"Tomorrow," she said. "The same day, we head back to Earth. We even get byes on all of our grades, which is pretty sweet. I guess getting into a war is one way to avoid finals week."

"So everyone's back, right?" Ness asked. "We'll finally be together again?"

"Yep," Claus said. "Things are starting to look up. We took care of our mass murderer, Ninten and I came back alive, and Monotoli even let Gerardo Montague design a political approach to deal with the cultists without angering the Vulcanese."

"The geezer's finally starting to see that pushing people to the point of rioting makes things harder for us," Ana muttered.

"Did you just call the Secretary of Defense a geezer?" Ness asked, trying to keep himself from laughing.

"Monotoli's _ancient,_ " Ana said. "He's like 70 years old. Well, more like 60, but still."

"60 isn't that old," Claus pointed out. "Especially for a psion."

"Whatever." Ana rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I talked to Ninten earlier, and we decided that it would be pretty cool to stick together during our break. We could all go to the same places and meet each other's families… although you already know my parents. Would you be okay with that?"

"Wow," Ness said. "I hadn't thought of that possibility before."

"Is it something that you're not comfortable with?" Ana asked.

"It sounds wonderful!" Ness exclaimed. "I mean, what am I going to do in Onett for an entire month? I'd love to go out and see more of the world."

"Are you sure?" Ana asked. "Your mom might want to see you for longer than a couple of days…"

"I think she'll be happy that I'm finally doing something with my life," Ness said. "Wow. A month of visiting new places on Earth. That sounds awesome!"

Ana's posture relaxed visibly. She put on a characteristic smile.

"I'm glad that you feel that way," she said. "Now we just have to get Paula and Jeff on board."

"Um," Claus said. "You can totally say no to this, but would you guys let me tag along with you? I know that we're not really friends or anything, but I have nothing to do on Ceres."

"That's fine with me," Ana said, "And I can't see Ninten having any problems with that, given how much you two hang out these days. Didn't you two used to hate each other's guts?"

"Yeah," Claus said, "But you know how it goes."

"No, I don't really know how that works," Ness said. "But welcome to the gang anyway."

"Thanks," Claus said. "Let's travel to cool places and make some memories."

Ness took a deep breath, not even caring how polluted the air was. After all of this time, he had finally faced his fears. He had come to Vulcan and made it out battered and bruised, but still alive and whole. Now, he could go home, see his mom, and enjoy some time off with his friends.

For once, everything seemed to be going his way.


	25. Chapter 20: X-Agerate

**Hey, guys! How's everyone doing? :) Do I ask that every week, or do I just feel like I ask it every week? xD**

 **Anyways, I'm a little sick, so hopefully my brain still works well enough to give this chapter a last round of edits before I publish it. It's a Jeff chapter... and the last one for a while. Yeah, he's getting the short end of the stick in this fic (feel free to keep complaining about it, A Fan :P).**

 **This part of the trilogy is probably the one that fits in the least with the others. What would otherwise be somewhat of a progression through Ceres and the outside world takes a break to head back to Earth. For a time, things get less political and less violent. I planned the whole story to be kinda like this, but I switched up some parts _a lot_ (like... going to Vulcan wasn't part of the original plan). However, this part received less touchups than the others, so for a time it may feel kinda... weird. Hopefully you guys will still enjoy it.**

 **Also, a lot of the changes I made took a lot of content out of the Jeff plot (originally, Lucas was going to do stuff in the labs on Ceres but that didn't really end up happening), so this chapter wraps up some of what happened back in the last part. It might feel a little... empty, but I tried to add in enough stuff to still make it cool. We'll see how it goes, I guess.**

 **Also, now that I have more time, I'm planning on updating twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays. If this is concerning (like you don't think that you'll be able to keep up and you actually care about this story), please let me know. :) Yes, this means that I plan to update in three days on Monday.**

 **As always, feel more than welcome to drop a review! :D**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Ness is definitely the most standard out of all my protags. Jeff is kind of standard, I guess, but Ninten is just super weird. So I guess it makes sense why it would seem like it's Ness' story; he goes through the standard hero's path and all that. Ah, I'm glad that you like how the relationships between my characters develop. :) Well, we'll see what happens to Claus, won't we? ;)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Heh, I did go pretty hard on those tragic backstories, huh? Don't worry; we still have another round of interludes to go in fic #3. :D But don't worry too much, only two of those will be super tragic. And we'll see what happens to Lucas and Claus (although not really in this chapter). :)

 **A Fan:** I didn't want to put this chapter before the interludes because the interludes themselves are cooldowns from the regular story so I felt like people would lose interest after the Vulcan plot arc finished completely. Also, the tone matches the rest of this part better than the first part of this fic. I could be totally wrong, though. This chapter wraps up some of the Ceres parts (or at least stalls them out), since most of this arc will take place back on Earth. It won't be a while until we see the labs pop back up again. :) Yes, Giygas will start to play a larger role in all of this, though. And more light will be shed on Mr. Agerate. Your idea about Mr. Agerate being a starman is probably closer to the truth than you think... After all, he does know a suspicious amount about starmen and how they work. And hey, don't feel bad about spaced out reviews! I'm just glad that you take the time to review at all! :D

* * *

 _I know better than to think that I'm some sort of tragic hero. What I did to Aphrodite was wrong, and I wish that I could take it back. I will forever go down in history as a monster, and rightly so._

 _I guess I'm trying to say that I accept my status of a villain. Still, that doesn't keep me from feeling bad for myself. Oh sure, I know that I should suck it up and get my act together like a big girl, but that knowledge alone does no good if I can't apply it._

 _So I weep. I bawl. I curse the universe for creating me._

 _My solitary melodrama releases steam so that I can keep up appearances._

* * *

Kumatora didn't come back the next day. Or the day after that. On the third day, Jeff spotted not a pink-haired girl but another familiar face… one that he would have been happy to never see again.

Jeff was walking to Paula's room when Mr. Agerate waved to him in the halls. Jeff balled his hands into fists. How _dare_ he show himself now! And while pretending that nothing was wrong, no less.

"Hey, Jeff," Mr. Agerate said. "It's been a busy few weeks. You look angry about something. Did you fail a final or what?"

Failing a final? Jeff snorted.

"This is serious," Jeff hissed. "I need to talk to you in private. Take me to your metal box thingy."

Mr. Agerate raised an eyebrow at Jeff's rude tone but didn't comment.

"If you really want to…"

"I do," Jeff said.

Mr. Agerate shrugged as if it meant nothing to him.

"All right. Teleport."

The next second, Jeff stood in a box made completely of steel. He spotted tiny air holes in the walls, but there were no entrances or exits. Only psions with teleportation could access this place.

"Now, what do you wish to talk about?" Mr. Agerate asked.

"Tony's dead," Jeff snapped.

 _That_ got Mr. Agerate's attention. The teacher stiffened; blood drained from his face. He looked at Jeff in disbelief.

"How?" he asked. "An accident?"

"Murder," Jeff hissed.

"At the school?" Mr. Agerate asked. "Like Pokey?"

"Tony went to the chimera labs," Jeff said. "After he didn't come back for a while, Kumatora and I went looking for him. We found his corpse next to an open journal about how President Carpainter planned to drain psions of their energy and use it to power cities."

"Oh," Mr. Agerate said, his eyes widening.

"Scary, isn't it?" Jeff asked. "But no, you had to go off and leave when we needed you the most."

Jeff looked for a reaction in Mr. Agerate's face. A twitch, a flash of guilt, _something_ that would tell if the cloaked man back in the lab really was someone else pretending to be the teacher.

He got nothing.

"No, not that," Mr. Agerate said. "I meant 'oh' as in I know who killed Tony."

"You?" Jeff asked.

"What? Why the psych would I kill him?"

Mr. Agerate's harsh language startled Jeff. Even in situations of life or death, Mr. Agerate _always_ kept his composure. Jeff studied Mr. Agerate's face, trying to pick out extreme emotions. He saw confusion. Anger. Sorrow.

Betrayal.

"Someone with your voice came up and admitted that he killed Tony," Jeff said. "Isn't it natural that I would suspect you?"

Mr. Agerate's face relaxed.

"Oh," he said. "Is that all?"

"What?" Jeff sputtered. "I psyching _heard_ you…"

"You heard my voice," Mr. Agerate said. His next words perfectly imitated Megan Aniah's speech, "A voice which, with psionics, can easily be manipulated."

"I know that!" Jeff said. "But I still suspect you. Where were you in these past few weeks anyway?"

"Jeff," Mr. Agerate said. "A word of advice. If you're going to accuse someone of a crime, make sure you have backup when doing so. If I actually did kill Tony and wanted to keep that fact a secret, you wouldn't be alive right now."

"Why don't you listen to me for _once?_ " Jeff asked. "You say that anyone could have faked your voice, but why would they have chosen yours? I don't think it's a coincidence that you went missing for three weeks."

"I know who the murderer is," Mr. Agerate said. "And I _am_ sorry for not warning you about her. I never imagined that she would stoop so low to kill an innocent boy." Mr. Agerate sighed. "Maybe I should have kept you two from going into the lab at all. I try never to force you guys to do anything because from my experience, that doesn't end well. But would it have saved Tony's life?"

"Stop changing the subject," Jeff snapped.

"I'm sorry if you want to pin the crime on me, but I didn't do it," Mr. Agerate said. "Is Kumatora safe?"

"Poo fought against the man who sounded like you while we escaped," Jeff whispered. "But Kumatora went back to save him. I haven't heard from either of them since."

"Psych," Mr. Agerate muttered. "So she probably got what she wanted."

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.

"You said that you found Minerva's journal, right? Did it mention that Kumatora was one of the psions that she drained for energy?"

Jeff managed a nod. He could see where this was going…

"So now they have her again," Mr. Agerate said. "Probably. She used Tony's death to lead you into the lab so that she could capture Kumatora. She probably took Poo as well… or she killed him. Not much of a difference, really. I still can't believe that she would stoop so low."

Mr. Agerate closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Jeff wasn't sure why he found that so infuriating.

"You mean President Carpainter?" Jeff asked. "Because if she destroyed Aphrodite, I don't think that she would have any qualms with this."

"Ah, so you know about that," Mr. Agerate said. "But Minerva didn't do this. She's not stupid enough to leave such an obvious trail back to her headquarters. This is Juno's work."

"Juno?" Jeff asked.

"You probably know her as Ms. Monotoli."

A shiver ran down Jeff's spine. How could he forget the crimson-haired teacher with the falsely sweet voice who "taught" telepathy and bullied Paula heartlessly? Ninten had stood up for Paula and chased Ms. Monotoli out of the classroom, but Jeff should have known better than to assume that the teacher was done after that.

"What makes you think that she did it?" Jeff asked.

"She was in charge of the lab on Vulcan that the journal talked about. She originally captured Kumatora to drain her power and viewed it as a personal insult when Kumatora escaped and crash landed on Ceres. So Juno has a motive to recapture Kumatora. She probably left the journal out so that when Tony read it, she would be 'forced' to kill him, thus drawing Kumatora to the lab. She disguised as me because she hates my guts."

Was _that_ why she lead Jeff, Tony, and Kumatora to the staff archives to see Giygas as well? Was it her entire plan to sow seeds of distrust between the students and Mr. Agerate?

"Why does she hate you?" Jeff asked.

"It's a long story," Mr. Agerate said. "Basically, we were friends and I betrayed her trust, nearly getting her killed. Still, she never seemed… completely evil. I never imagined that she would strike in such an obvious way."

"Well," Jeff snapped, "She did!"

"And of course it's _my_ fault for not being there to babysit you, even though you knew that the lab was dangerous," Mr. Agerate said.

Well, he had a point there.

"Why should I even believe you?" Jeff asked. "You might be making this whole thing up."

"I don't really care if you believe me or not," Mr. Agerate said. "Well, that's not entirely true. But your disbelief won't change anything. I'll teleport you back to your rooms and kill Juno either way."

"Killing her won't bring Tony back!" Jeff shouted. "You're not changing anything! Stop pretending that you'll make up for your mistakes by spilling blood."

"You misunderstand me," Mr. Agerate said. "It was not _my_ fault that Tony got killed. I'm not making up for anything. Juno's actions revealed that she's a danger to the universe, so I'm going to make sure that she can do no more harm. Preservation of the future is my _only_ reason for this course of action."

"Then maybe you should learn to take some responsibility," Jeff said, his voice frigid. "As the teacher, isn't it your job to keep us from getting into trouble?"

"My job is to teach, about safety and other things," Mr. Agerate said. "It's not my problem if you refuse to learn."

"So you're saying that it's _our_ fault?" Jeff asked.

"It's Juno's fault," Mr. Agerate said, "But you and Tony did play the situation rather poorly. I know that you want to blame this on me because I'm enigmatic and powerful, but look at this from an objective standpoint."

"I don't psyching care!" Jeff shouted. "I know that you can talk circles around me; you don't have to prove that. You don't understand how I feel!"

"Ah," Mr. Agerate said. "Every teenager's mournful cry. The world just doesn't understand them." He put a hand on Jeff's shoulder. "Look at me, Jeff. I know how you feel better than most."

"You clearly don't," Jeff muttered.

"No, I understand you so well that it makes you angry," Mr. Agerate said. "You're panic-stricken by Tony's death. Up until now, exploring dangerous places was a bonding experience. Kumatora and Tony leap in, and you grumble about their lack of caution before following, nevertheless enjoying the whole exchange."

Jeff perked up. It never occurred to him that a teacher could pick up on such nuanced social interaction between teenagers.

"But then, you find Tony dead on the floor. Suddenly, you understand why we stuffy adults turn our noses up whenever you go on those kinds of explorations. The consequences are real. Sneaking through abandoned labs and creepy libraries is no longer a harmless game, and you feel like an idiot for not realizing it sooner."

Jeff gritted his teeth. How did Mr. Agerate know his reaction better than he did?

"You want to take your knowledge back to a time when it would make a difference, but you're powerless to reverse the death of your best friend. Teenage social interaction teaches you to puff up your courage and wear it like armor, but the sheer realization of the fact that you can't do a _psyching_ thing cuts through that armor like a knife through cheese. Suddenly, you feel weak and you realize that there's nobody to help you."

"Stop," Jeff whispered. "I get it."

"But you can't show that to the outside world," Mr. Agerate continued. "So you replace it with anger: anger at yourself, anger at the world. You then realize that it was supposed to be _your_ job to keep Tony safe. At least, that's what everyone's always told you. You've always been a good influence on your peers, so all of the adults expect you to teach your friends a thing or two about proper, logical behavior. Isn't that right?"

"I… guess so."

"So you start to think that it's your duty to keep your friends out of trouble. You think that it's your duty to keep them safe. So when Tony waltzes off on his own stupid mission and never comes back, what do you feel?" Mr. Agerate looked into Jeff's eyes. "Guilt."

Jeff gasped, the realization of his own guilt physically _hurting_ him. He was supposed to be there for his friends. He was supposed to keep their curiosity in check.

He failed.

"But of course," Mr. Agerate said. "You're already angry, so you suppress that guilt and let it feed your fiery rage even further. You need to find _someone_ to direct your anger towards so that you feel justified, and I was the perfect candidate. I can tell that those words make you even angrier. Yes, how dare I dismiss your profound hatred of me as an attempt to alleviate guilt. But," Mr. Agerate flashed a wry smile. "It's true."

No! Jeff's anger was more reasonable than that. Mr. Agerate made him suspicious from the beginning…

"It's like I'm looking into a mirror," Mr. Agerate said, shaking his head. "It's good that you begin to realize this now rather than in your forties."

Jeff gulped. Was _that_ why Mr. Agerate could pinpoint Jeff's emotions with obnoxious accuracy?

"What happened to you?" Jeff asked.

"It's a long story," Mr. Agerate said, "And one which I do not wish to tell. Listen, I know that you want to be angry and that nothing I say will change that. And yes, I might be that patronizing teacher whose injustice rivals none, but I just needed to get that out. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings further."

Mr. Agerate's somber tone brought Jeff back down from his heightened state of anger. He coughed, realizing only then that he yelled loud enough to make his throat sore. He slouched, feeling drained from the exchange. Beneath that exhaustion lay the dull anger that Mr. Agerate pointed out. Once again, he couldn't do anything right. He couldn't help Kumatora, he couldn't save Tony, and he needed a teacher to identify his own feelings.

It made him feel like a pile of dung. He accepted the emotions anyway.

"No," Jeff whispered. "I… can kind of see where you're coming from. Thank you for sharing that with me."

"Wow," Mr. Agerate said, his voice softening. "It took me months of self-pity and anger to get to that point. I guess you're quite a bit smarter than I am."

"I should have recognized it earlier," Jeff said. "It's what I respected about you in the first place. You _do_ see me as a person instead of a student." Jeff sighed. "Ah, why am I so tired? I just want the suffering to end so that we can live happily ever after. But that's silly, isn't it?"

"Silly or no, we all share that sentiment," Mr. Agerate said. "It's not one to be ashamed of, so long as it stays a wish and doesn't turn into an expectation. Are you ready to go back to your room now?"

Jeff nodded.

"I still don't trust you," Jeff said. "There's just too much about you that I can't explain. But I trust you a little more after this."

"I couldn't ask for more," Mr. Agerate said as he teleported Jeff away.

* * *

Jeff appeared in his room to hear knocking on his door.

"Who is it?" Jeff asked.

"It's Paula. Our friends are getting back soon, remember? We should probably head out to the astroport."

Right. Jeff was going to Paula's room to remind _her_ about that when he saw Mr. Agerate in the halls.

"I'll be right there," Jeff said.

He scooped the psicrystal that Ness had given him to borrow off of his desk. It made a shimmering noise that sounded unearthly… so perfect for Ceres. Jeff closed his eyes and imagined himself in a city of stained glass where everyone respected each other and disagreements didn't provoke hostility. He took a deep breath, releasing some of the tension inside of his body.

Jeff opened his eyes, slipped the psicrystal in his pocket, and opened the door. Paula stood outside, her puffy eyes indicating that she had probably wept recently.

"Sorry that I dropped the ball," Jeff said. "I was going to meet up with you in your room like we agreed, but I got sidetracked."

"No problem," Paula said. "We still have plenty of time. This is what happens when I obsess about an event so much that I want to get there an hour early. God forbid that we get there only 30 minutes early instead!"

Jeff smiled, taking off towards the exit of the school. Paula followed next to him, and while she put up a nonchalant attitude, Jeff could tell that she was dying for someone to talk to. Both the excitement of seeing her friends and her horror at Tony's death and Poo's and Kumatora's disappearances probably made solitude unbearable. Fine by Jeff; he didn't want to his bitterness to fester alone.

"Well, I can definitely see why you would want to get there early," Jeff said. "Congratulations for the news about Ninten being okay! I'm really happy for you."

"And Claus," Paula added with a grin. "But thanks. To be honest, I'm a little worried that Ninten kind of forgot about me. A month is a long time…"

"If he was in a war zone, thoughts of being with you probably pushed him through combat," Jeff said.

Paula's cheeks turned a light pink.

"Thanks," she said. "I guess it's a little silly to worry about something like that when Poo and Kumatora might not even be alive anymore, huh?"

"Hey, we all worry about stuff," Jeff said. "And it doesn't always make sense. Just comes with being a human."

"You know, you're not as socially awkward as you first appear," Paula said.

"You're not so shy as you first appear," Jeff pointed out.

"Well," Paula said. "I changed."

"I like to think that my social skills changed too," Jeff said. "But honestly, who knows?"

"Yeah, there's not really a good way to measure social awkwardness," Paula said. Her voice dropped to a whisper, "…What do we tell our friends about Tony, Kumatora, and Poo?"

"I don't know," Jeff said. "Honestly, I've been dealing with my own emotions for so long that I didn't even think about that."

"I filed missing person reports on Poo and Kumatora," Paula said. "The experts will probably do a better job than our friends of finding them."

 _If they're still alive,_ her words implied.

"Well," Jeff said, fidgeting with his glasses. "I guess we could just not tell them?"

"But lying's wrong," Paula said.

"Even white lies? Besides, withholding information is a little different than flat-out deception."

"I suppose," Paula said. "Yeah, I don't think that God will blame us too harshly for something like that. It's for their own good, after all."

Coming from Winters, a largely atheist community, Jeff found it strange to use religion as a moral compass. Why would someone follow codes that they themselves didn't create?

 _I suppose it's all relative,_ Jeff thought. _If the majority of people were religious, atheists would probably seem weird._

"Are you nervous?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah," Paula said with a sigh. "I still don't know what to expect from Ninten. He's a little…"

"Unpredictable?"

"Yeah. Impulsive, too. It makes him more exciting, but I do worry about what he'll do."

"At least he's not a jerk," Jeff said. "Or at least not a complete one. Sometimes, exciting people are just flat-out toxic."

"Oh yeah, you two don't really get along, huh?" Paula asked, picking up on Jeff's hesitation. "Why is that?"

"I think that it bugged him how I liked to show off," Jeff said. "Which, granted, is kind of obnoxious on my part, but I wish that he talked to me about it instead of resenting me."

"I'm not sure if Ninten has the best communication skills," Paula said with a guilty smile, "But he does mean well."

"I won't deny the second part," Jeff said. "Actually, I won't deny either part."

Paula laughed.

"Poor Ninten," she said. "Ah, this would be even funnier if he were here with us. He would do the thing where he scowls and pretends to be sullen even though he doesn't really care."

"I must admit," Jeff said, "I don't think he realizes just how entertainment that habit of his provides."

* * *

It didn't take long for Jeff and Paula to reach the astroport. They stood outside, chatting about weather and school. Even though they both knew that their words only served to distract them from recent tragedies, they seemed to enjoy it. Jeff supposed that to an outsider, they must look like a romantic couple.

After Jeff and Paula exchanged thousands of meaningless words, psions started to exit the astroport. First came a half-dozen older students who Jeff didn't really know. After Jeff and Paula stepped off the road to let them pass, Ana and Ninten exited the astroport. Paula inhaled sharply, clutching her hands over her heart as she stared at her boyfriend. Ninten's face lit up when he made eye contact with her.

"Hey, Paula," he said. "Ana just informed me how I probably gave you the scare of your life by going missing. Sorry about that."

Paula breathed a sigh of relief, releasing the tension in her body.

"I'm just glad to see you safe," she said.

Ninten walked up and embraced Paula in a hug.

"I really missed you," Ninten whispered.

"…Oh," Paula said, her eyes growing wide.

"Is something wrong?" Ninten asked.

"No, not at all," Paula said. "I just didn't expect _you_ to make the first move."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jeff caught Ana smiling smugly. He would have bet a thousand golden dollars that Ana coached Ninten behind the scenes.

"Why does this feel so nice?" Paula asked. "But…" she released Ninten, blushing furiously. "Um, I think that we might be embarrassing everyone else."

"Nah, we're fine," Ana said. "This is touching. Right, Jeff?"

"Yeah, of course!" Jeff said. Only an idiot would have missed the hint in Ana's voice. "I mean… you guys didn't see each other for a month. It's only natural that this is a pretty big moment for you."

"Thanks," Paula said, taking Ninten's hand. "You guys are awesome friends."

"To you, at least," Ninten muttered. "Ana threatened to tell you about all sorts of embarrassing stuff that I did on Vulcan."

"I was kidding," Ana said, waving her hand in dismissal. "I wouldn't tell Paula _now._ It will be so much entertaining if I can hold it over your head for the rest of your life."

"See what I mean?" Ninten asked, his face turning sullen. "She always picks on me."

Paula exchanged a glance with Jeff as they both struggled to keep a straight face. After talking about how entertainment Ninten's false angst provided, this exchange became even funnier.

"You guys have been away for too long," Paula said. "School was so boring with you gone." Her face turned downcast. "And now we have to split up again for break. Ugh, I have to see my parents again."

"Hey, you hate your parents too?" Ninten asked. "That's a nice coincidence. Now we can complain about how much our parents suck together."

"Speaking of which," Ana said. "We came up with the idea of sticking together during break and travelling around the world. With our generous stipends and my parents' nearly bottomless pockets, we can go pretty much wherever we want."

"I suggested Summers," Ninten said. "But everyone else called me unoriginal."

"That sounds amazing!" Paula said, her face lighting up. "I can't believe that I didn't think of that myself."

"There's just once catch," came Ness' soft voice from the entrance to the astroport. "I'm coming along too."

Paula flinched and then grimaced in shame. Jeff looked back to the entrance and saw Ness and Claus walking towards them. Claus examined Paula similar to how Jeff would look at a complex math problem and Ness took careful steps to appear as a non-threat.

"I'm sorry, Ness," Paula said. "I didn't mean to…"

"Flinch?" Claus said. "It's a reflex. Those things are damn near impossible to control."

"I don't mind," Ness whispered, smiling sweetly. "Really, I don't. I'm just worried that I might ruin your vacation if I tag along."

"He even offered to stay behind if you wanted to go," Ninten said. "Being his friends, we told him to forget the idea."

"We did talk about splitting up, though," Ana said. "We want to respect your feelings, Paula. We just need to respect Ness' too."

"I understand," Paula said, nodding slowly. "And I'm glad that you didn't want to leave him behind just because I would feel a little uncomfortable. I'm fine going with you, Ness. It's about time that I faced this stupid fear of mine."

"Really?" Ness asked, a smile appearing on his face. "Thank you, Paula!"

"It should be me thanking you," Paula said. "It was sweet of you to think of me. Not that…" Paula trailed off, looking at Ninten. "Not that I think you're any less sweet, Ninten."

"Well, I kind of am," Ninten said. "I'm a downer and Ness is super nice. It only makes sense."

Paula rolled her eyes.

"You're sweet in your own way," she said.

"Can confirm," Claus said with a wink. "It's nice to see you in good spirits, Paula. It felt like I only saw the negative part of you for the first few months of school, if you don't mind me saying. Now, I _did_ promise Ninten ice cream right when we got back on Ceres, but I wouldn't want to tear you two lovebirds apart. Do you want to tag along, Paula? It's all on me."

"Sure!" Paula said. "And since when were we 'lovebirds'?"

"Ever since I became too damn hostile to get a girlfriend," Claus said. "Everyone set to go?"

Paula and Ninten nodded. The three of them walked off towards the city neighboring the school.

"Both Paula and Claus changed a lot," Ana observed, "It's nice to see them engaging in normal activities."

"I know," Ness whispered. "Paula seemed a lot more like when I knew her as my childhood friend. It brings back memories."

"Oh hey," Jeff said. "Before I forget…" Jeff pulled Ness' psicrystal out of his pocket. "This is for you."

"Huh," Ness said, taking the psicrystal. "I forgot about this thing. Thanks, Jeff."

"You're welcome. And speaking of change, you've grown more confident. You're still shy and reserved, but…"

"But I'm not trying to hide myself anymore," Ness said with a smile. "It's refreshing."

"As your girlfriend, I agree about the refreshing part," Ana said. "So, Jeff… do you want to tag along with us during break as well? You're welcome to join us."

"Yeah!" Ness said. "It would be a lot of fun, and maybe Ninten could learn to stop getting annoyed by you."

"I think you already know the answer," Jeff said, looking into Ana's steady eyes.

"You want to stay behind on Ceres," Ana said. "I was hoping that I could persuade you to come with us."

"There's something that I need to investigate," Jeff said. "I need to do it alone. I'm sorry."

"Aw," Ness said, his face crestfallen. "I guess we'll meet up in a month, then?"

"Did something happen to Tony?" Ana asked.

Jeff knew that he couldn't lie successfully through the shock that popped up on his face. Time for plan B.

"Yeah," Jeff said. "It's nothing that you can help with. I need to fix it on my own."

"I understand," Ana said. "And I won't try to force you away from your path. Just remember that we're always there if you need us."

"Right," Ness said. "You can call us on your portocom any time."

"Actually," Ana said. "Portocoms don't really work for communicating between planets, much less planets in two different galaxies. Regular telecommunicators should work, though. Feel free to call whenever you want."

"Sounds good," Jeff said. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I think that I'm going to go shopping downtown," Ana said. "Either of you want to tag along?"

"I'll come," Ness replied instantly. "What's the point of courting each other if we don't do anything together?"

 _Oh right,_ Jeff thought. _They're in a relationship._

Sometimes, it was easy to forget. Ana and Ness acted so casual around each other.

"Thanks for offering," Jeff said, "But I think I'll pass."

"All right," Ana said. "But don't be a stranger, all right? You can't always do everything by yourself."

Ana and Ness walked off, leaving Jeff to mull over her words. Paula had said something similar when she talked about how she managed to quell her bitterness. But Jeff had never really needed anyone else. Sure, he couldn't do everything, but he could do enough.

As Jeff walked back to the school, the reality of his decision to remain separate from his friends hit him square in the chest. What if he did need someone? What if he got stuck in another sticky situation and nobody was there to bail him out?

Right then, Mr. Agerate appeared right in front of Jeff. Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he still managed to put on a smile.

"It's done," he said.

It took Jeff a moment to remember that he had disappeared earlier to kill Juno Monotoli.

"Ah, I screwed that up," Mr. Agerate said. "I tried to read her mind to see where Kumatora and Poo were, but she wiped her own memory before I could. So when I captured her… she didn't remember anything about what she did to them. That's why I'm crying. The look of betrayal on her face…"

"Should we really talk about this in public?" Jeff asked carefully.

"I don't really care if anyone hears, honestly," Mr. Agerate said. "At this point, we're both in danger just for knowing. I'm sure that Juno told Minerva what happened back at the chimera labs. I think that I can convince Minerva to keep you safe… unless she's gone just as crazy as Juno."

"Well, if you feel so bad about it then maybe you shouldn't have… er, _dealt_ with Ms. Monotoli."

"No," Mr. Agerate said. "I knew that I would feel this way. I'm not crying because I want your pity or anything like that; this is just a healthy, physiological response to guilt. I should probably leave you in peace."

Mr. Agerate teleported away, once again leaving Jeff alone. Jeff crossed his arms over his chest. He wanted to feel bad for the teacher, but he wouldn't risk getting too close to someone he didn't trust. If only there were a way to determine once and for all if Mr. Agerate had a hand in any of this mess.

Jeff's portocom started beeping. He took it out and saw once again the shaky black letters on the purple screen that had no right to be there. The last time they appeared was right before Jeff and Kumatora set off to the chimera lab, telling them not to go. This time, it read:

 _If you wish to seek the truth, head to the Shard of Ceres._

 _-LOVE_

Jeff read the message over once, twice, three times. Based on the signature, it appeared to come from the same person who warned him to avoid the chimera lab, but who was this "LOVE"? Why did they sign their name in all capitals?

Jeff shook his head. He couldn't tell who sent this message, but heading to the Shard would allow him to find the truth. According to what Jeff had heard, anyone who made it through the trials that the Shard offered would get to know anything that they pleased. Except there were stories of people getting greedy and wanting to know too much, so the Shard gave them no information at all. Jeff didn't know whether or not he trusted the stories, but the plausibility of the Shard as well as LOVE's last message telling the truth made Jeff curious.

It was time to do some research about the Shard of Ceres.


	26. Chapter 21: Uncertain Future

**Here I am with the first Monday update since the first Ceres fic (so... December, maybe?). In case you guys didn't get the memo from my obnoxiously long ANs,** **I will be updating every Monday and Friday now.** **This will probably last until I go to college in September (yay quarters).**

 **I said this last chapter, but we're moving away from war and politics for a while (that's not something I ever expected to say in regards to my writing haha). Instead, it's going to be more... I dunno, normal book stuff? With family relationships and emo teenager struggles? I'm not sure how else to describe it. xD Phoesong probably could, though. ;)**

 **And with Rebuild/Reborn finished, this is the only Earthbound uber-fic left that's regularly updated (somebody poke crabbyTomato and ask what he's been up to... and then if it turns out he's been going through personal/family struggles I'll feel super bad about saying this :x). Yes, the dubious honor is mine! :D At least, it's mine until Fox starts publishing another big fic again. D:**

 **This is a Ness chapter, so take that for whatever it's worth. We get to see more Lucas (yay?). It's also pretty long. Yes, I'm terrible at hyping my own stories up. I feel like a lot of writers are (or maybe I'm just in denial).**

 **Now that I finished talking your ears off, I'll respond to some reviews.**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Yeah, I know how bad vacation wifi can get. xD I never want to complain about it, though, because I'm on a vacation so the experience is already super nice (since my mom refuses to let us go anywhere crappy for vacation). Ah, thanks. :) I like Mr. Agerate's character too (well, relatively speaking), since I find him more complex than my protags. Ah, what parts of the chapter were confusing? I make up a lot of this stuff myself, so it probably wasn't your knowledge of Mother 3... which means that everyone else was probably confused too. Whoops.

 **DarkFoxKit:** Never coulda guessed that you like Lucas and Claus. It's not like you wrote a 300k word fic about them or anything. ;) Yep, you called it. A vacation is too good to be true. Bascially, we're going to deal with random character struggles for a while before returning to the main plot (although there is some plot setup that needs to happen). Well, we won't be seeing Jeff for a while because so much of the stuff that I planned for him got cut out. Whoops. :x

 **A Fan:** I actually did decide to make Jeff better later on after hearing your comments about his lameness (which I agree with; again, it comes down to the fact that he doesn't even try in a lot of cases). But it will take a lot of time to get there because I had to cut out a lot of Jeff's material in this fic. Yep, the Price of War. :) I mean, it's not like Jeff really can do a whole lot in his situation. His combat is pretty wimpy and he's not really experienced in intrigue either. Really, he's just trying to hang on and not get swallowed whole. So... success? Yes, the impostor was a character who I thought was going to play a large role, but I ended up not liking the character. I would have cut her out, but... well, she was already in published chapters so I felt like it was a bit late. Well for Ness, all the terrible stuff that happened to him on Vulcan was basically exposure therapy. Claus was already so messed up that the mines didn't really hurt him and Ninten would try to hide his suffering even if he experienced PTSD. Not to mention that Ness, Ninten, and Claus all have PTSD from other experiences, so it gets a little messy. Ah yeah, the actual character is someone who I've only barely touched on. If you figure it out, it will probably be a long time from now when I give you more to work with. So no, it's not Lloyd. :) Sorry!

* * *

 _Morgan always believed that only the consequences of an action matter. She thinks that that attempting to help and failing is akin to not trying at all. By her definition, I am the worst person to have ever existed in the universe._

 _I don't know if I can believe that._

 _Yes, I am a horrible person, and there's no excuse for what I've done. But to call me the worst ever just because of my kill count? Sure, I snuffed out 150 million lives, more than most of history's monsters combined, but I'm not completely evil down to the core. I don't torture or coerce people. I try to preserve life when I can. And psych it, I try to make the universe a better place. I know that it doesn't excuse my genocide, but isn't it worth something?_

 _Maybe not. Maybe I am the worst person to ever live. After all, most truly horrific people lack the perspective to understand their own villainy. If I were a monster made from pure malice, I probably wouldn't know it._

* * *

Ness tried to keep from panicking as the starship emerged from extradimensional space back into the physical universe. The starship circled around Earth, and for the first time in years Ness was so awed by the beautiful scene in front of him that he couldn't speak. Deep, blue oceans; thin, white clouds; lush, green forests… Ness hadn't realized how much Earth had to offer until he left.

"Dang," Ninten said, walking up to Ness and looking out the window. "That's a nice view. It's hard to believe that so many people live down there, huh? Almost a billion… and that's double since when the empire fell. In a hundred more years, who knows what the world will look like?"

"With the technological innovation coming out from psychoscientists and psionic engineers, I don't know if we'd be able to recognize Earth in a hundred years," Ana said. "Think about it. Since the emprie's fall, we went from fire to stoves and ovens. We went from theater to television. We went from bulky telecommunicators to handheld devices. I'm excited to see what comes next, but I'm also scared."

"It's natural to fear an uncertain future, no?" Ninten asked. "But it can get annoying when people like my father can't recognize real progress. He despises modern automobiles even though they help people like him escape from bloodthirsty cities like Ellay." Ninten shook his head. "Traditionalists in general get on my nerves sometimes."

"Traditionalists like your girlfriend?" Ana teased.

"Paula's not a jerk about it," Ninten said. "I can respect their beliefs if they don't shove them in my face."

"Speaking of Paula," Ness said. "Why aren't you with her right now?"

"She wanted to talk to Claus," Ninten said with a shrug. "I didn't want to intrude."

Ness couldn't help but smile. Did Ninten even realize how free his personality was? While Ness latched and clung onto the people he loved, Ninten never let himself get bogged down by anyone. He could still love just as fully as Ness, but he never let his love chain him down or tear him apart.

"Well, it looks like we're about to land soon," Ana said. "We should probably strap ourselves in."

Ness looked at the ever-growing blue and green ball in front of him. As the ship started to descend into Earth's atmosphere, Ness went back to his seat and buckled in. He felt a sense of security as the tight leather strap squeezed around his waist.

"It's a little scary, huh?" Ana whispered. She pointed outside to Earth, "Compared to that giant globe out there, we're tiny, insignificant. That mentality can be hard to overcome."

Ness gulped and nodded.

 _Once I finish this, I won't have to worry about it for another month,_ he reminded himself. _I need to stay strong._

"You handling this okay, Ness?" Ninten asked.

"Ask yourself that," Ness answered. "Your face is paler than the paper that I paint on."

"You got me there," Ninten said. "This is a good reminder, I guess. No matter how strong we get, there will always be something we can't conquer. Sometimes, fighting back and lashing out against what we can't control will only make things worse."

"…Or you're reading a little too much into a simple flight," Ana said.

The spaceship descended through the clouds, giving Ness a view of the barren landscape below. Yellow sand and rocks stretched out for miles across the flat landscape with an occasional cactus to spruce things up.

"This is Dusty Dunes Desert, right?" Ana asked.

"You're expecting me to know?" Ness asked back.

"Well, you _are_ Eagleish."

"Before I left for Ceres, I had never been further away from my home than Twoson."

"Really?" Ana asked. "You never even took a trip to Threed or Fourside?"

"Not everyone's parents are so loaded that they can take vacations in Summers every year," Ninten said. "I lived in Podunk for my whole psyching life. Guess how fun _that_ was."

"I lived there too, remember?" Ana said. "I know exactly what you mean." She turned back to the window. "This should be Dusty Dunes Desert, though. I think that I can see Fourside in the distance."

"Pretty strange place for a desert, huh?" Ninten asked. "Eagleland doesn't really get many of those."

"It's artificially created," Ana said. "A few centuries ago, a group of wilders got drunk and went crazy. They unleashed psionics that affected the climate in ways that I can't fully explain. But long story short, we have a desert here now."

"Wow," Ness said. "That's pretty crazy. Was there anyone living in the area when it happened?"

"Sadly, yeah. Most of them either abandon their lands or died of thirst. You can see with your own eyes how many resources this place provides."

Ness took another look at the desert below. Nothing but desolation and automobile roads for miles. He closed his eyes and imagined what he would do if Onett suddenly turned into a desert. His mom worked all day and barely made enough money to put food on the table; there was no way that they could afford to settle elsewhere. Well, now they could because of Ness' status as a psion, but if he didn't have his powers… his family would have become part of a mortality statistic.

"Just another friendly reminder from our past," Ness whispered.

With all of the new technology coming out every year, would people have the power to create more disasters like this? But at the same time, didn't a lot of technology save lives and bring communities together? Was there a balance between progress and caution?

As the ship passed over the city of Fourside and began its final descent, Ness realized how little he could predict about this planet's future.

* * *

Ness breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the starship land on the ground.

"We made it!" Ana said. "But let's be honest; the air in Vulcan probably had a higher chance of killing us than space travel."

"We all know that," Ninten muttered, his face still pale. "That doesn't stop these ships from terrifying me."

After the captain announced that it was safe to leave the ship, Ness unbuckled his seat belt and headed towards the exit. His feet clanked on the metal stairs as he descended, followed by Ana and Ninten. A couple floors down, Ness met up with Paula and Claus. Naturally, Ninten went straight to Paula's side while Claus gave Ness a friendly smile. As Ninten and Paula chatted, Ness' heart rate nearly doubled. What would he see once he got out of the ship? Fourside would still look the same, right?

Of course it would. Just because Ness changed didn't mean that the world changed to match.

By now, Ness stood in front of a set of steel double-doors that lead outside. As the doors slid open, Ness took a deep breath.

He stepped out into Fourside's astroport.

Immediately, he spotted his mom and Tracy sitting on a bench near the edge of the passenger flight dome where the starship landed. Ness walked over to them. His mom's face lit up when she saw him.

"Ness!" she exclaimed. "It's been so long. How are you, sweetie?"

"Fine, mom," Ness said, letting himself smile. "It actually went better than I thought it would. Well… in some ways, at least."

"Well, you need to tell me more about Ceres later," she said. She walked up and embraced Ness in a hug. "Thank you for sending all of that money back home. It made our lives so much easier."

"You're welcome," Ness said, knowing that he could never begin to explain how good this felt.

After a few more seconds, Ness' mom released him, wearing a bittersweet smile as she grabbed a hold of his shoulders.

"You seem more confident," she noted.

"People have been saying that recently," Ness said.

"Still no friends, though," Tracy muttered.

"Tracy!" Ness' mom exclaimed. "You don't see your brother for four months and this is how you greet him?"

"It's true," Tracy said.

"Nice to see you too, Tracy," Ness said, enjoying the shocked look on Tracy's face.

"Well, well," Tracy said. "Looks like you can say more than two words to me."

It only made sense. After facing his worst fears on Vulcan, his little sister was only a gnat in his ear. Annoying? Oh psych yes. Scary? Anything but.

"I recall you saying that I would get eaten alive by the cutthroat psionic students on Ceres," Ness said to Tracy. "Still think that I can't handle myself?"

"Well, you didn't give me reason to feel that way back at home," Tracy said. "But now… maybe? I don't know."

Ness rolled his eyes.

"Hey!" Tracy said. "It's not like I can take _too_ much from this new attitude of yours. I mean, you still don't have any friends."

"Ahem," Ana said from behind Ness.

She walked up and put her arm around Ness' shoulder, smiling at Tracy.

"And who are _you?_ " Tracy asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Tracy!" Ness mom chided. "How many times do I need to remind you? It's rude to talk that way to someone you've just met."

"It's all right," Ana said. To Tracy, "The name's Ana Aniah, and your brother is courting me. So that claim about having no friends? Yeah, not exactly true."

"Hey, Ness," Tracy said, not getting flustered by her false assumption. "How did you manage to get a hottie like her? Although," Tracy wrinkled her nose, "She does seem a bit bossy. I think I recognize her last name from somewhere…"

"That's because she's the daughter of Megan and Adam Aniah, two of the most important people in the universe," Ness' mom explained. To Ana, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Aniah. The name's Linda. If you don't mind a neurotic mother asking, how did my son hold up on Ceres?"

 _Please don't mention the war,_ Ness thought, shooting a glance at Ana.

"Likewise, it's nice to meet you," Ana said. "As for Ness… Well, it was pretty tough for him in the beginning, but I think that most people were homesick. Overall, he did fine. The school's a little gentler to psions because we're so rare."

"Right," Tracy said. "It stinks how most people in the universe don't have the opportunity to get awakened. Ness and I only got a chance because we already live in Onett. For everyone else… if they don't have the money to travel to Eagleland, they can just fuck off as far as society is concerned."

"Language," Linda said, adopting a stern tone. "I don't think that the daughter of two renowned psions wants to listen to a girl with no manners."

"It's true, though," Ana said. "It's a shame how not everyone gets a chance to go through the psionic awakening process."

"See?" Tracy asked. " _Someone_ understands me."

"You can just ignore her," Linda said. "I try my hardest, but that girl just won't stop talking."

"I will, thanks," Ness said, smiling at Tracy.

"Har har," Tracy said. "You're so clever. Responding to a message meant for Ana? That's the most original thing I've seen since-"

"Tracy," Linda said, raising an eyebrow.

Tracy scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I apologize for her again," Linda said, shooting Ana an exasperated look.

"Well, it seems like you have your hands full," Ana said. If anything, she looked amused.

"I know that you probably have other things to do, but would you consider stopping by Onett sometime this break?" Linda asked. "There's honestly not much to see, but if Ness is courting you then you might want to see where he lives, right?"

"Yeah," Ana said. "We're going to stop by sometime. That's the plan, right?"

"Um, I think so," Ness said. "Our plan isn't fully mapped out yet."

"Actually," Claus said, walking up to Ness and Ana. "I was thinking that we could go to Onett first. But before I talk too much about that, you might want to do a little peacekeeping."

"Peacekeeping?" Ana asked. "What do you mean?"

"Paula and her parents," Claus said. "Ninten's getting all heated up."

"And we all know how that ends," Ness muttered.

"Right," Claus said, half-snorting and half-laughing. "And since you know that my social intelligence is basically zero, I decided to recruit someone slightly more competent."

"Well, you made the right choice," Ana said. "My social skills are ever so slightly above zero. Ness, I assume that you want to stay and spend some time catching up with your family?"

"Uh… sure."

Ana nodded.

"Let's go, then," she said.

"Wait a second," Tracy said, several seconds after Ana and Claus walked off. "You have more than one friend?"

"Yes, Tracy," Ness said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not as hopeless as you think."

"No kidding," Linda said. "I didn't want to ask in front of her, but how _did_ you manage to court Ana Aniah? Her family is quite important, and…"

"And I'm not attractive in any way, shape, or form while she is?" Ness asked.

"No!" Linda exclaimed. "I wasn't thinking that. It's just that…"

Ness raised an eyebrow. Linda fumbled for an answer.

"He's got you there, mom," Tracy said. "Ness isn't exactly a ladies' man and we both know it."

"See, Tracy?" Ness asked. "We _can_ agree on certain things. I just need to insult myself more often."

Tracy's eyes widened for a second before returning to their normal, prying state. Ness smiled, knowing that it would probably drive Tracy insane that she couldn't argue with him about this one.

"Well, I think that you're plenty attractive, sweetie," Linda said. "But… I'll admit that not everyone might see that part of you."

"That's a mother's way of saying that you're uglier than a bulldog," Tracy muttered.

"I want to reject that analysis, but I agree with you completely," Ness said.

A smile came to Tracy's face, and not a malicious one. Maybe Ness could learn to get along with her… so long as he only had to deal with her for brief spurts.

"You know," Tracy said. "Has anyone ever said that Ana's a really good influence on you?"

"Nope. But they have told me that I'm an amazing person to be around."

"Wow," Linda said. "For once, you two are getting along."

"Don't say that!" Ness exclaimed in mock panic. "If you tell Tracy that, she'll find some way to get mad at me just to prove you wrong!"

Tracy scowled, and Ness' smile widened as Tracy realized that she just proved his point.

"You win this time," Tracy said. "I guess they _did_ teach you to talk circles around people on Ceres."

"Ness," Linda said, her voice quiet yet urgent. "I'm a little worried about you and Ana. I know that you probably don't want to hear this, but ex-nobles are notorious for their manipulation. I think that she might be trying to use you."

"To do what?" Ness asked. "With her money and status, she can get pretty much anything that she wants."

"Maybe she wants to get back at someone," Linda suggested.

"Oh," Tracy said. "You think that a past boyfriend pissed her off and she's retaliating by dating a commonborn schlub like Ness." She shot a nervous glance at Ness. "No offense."

"None taken," Ness said. "You're not the one questioning my judgment."

"Ness…" Linda said, her voice straining. "Listen. I understand how you feel. I know that Ana seems awesome. But look at this logically. She's too smiley and nice."

"And that's a bad thing?" Ness asked.

"Of course not," Linda said. "It just feels fake. I can tell that she's hiding something from you. Call it a mother's intuition."

"Ana's not the type to keep secrets from me," Ness said. "At least, not secrets that would affect our relationship."

"I know you think that, but-"

"I'm sorry, mom," Ness said. "I need to trust her. She's already given me so much; I at least owe her that."

"Yeah, mom," Tracy said. "Remember when you told Ness to be more social? You basically _begged_ him to get a girlfriend. And if Ana is deceiving him, that's something Ness should deal with on his own."

Wait. Tracy agreed with him on something _other_ than a self-directed insult? Ness pinched himself to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. Tracy picked up on the motion and snorted.

"I… guess so," Linda said. "Just be careful, all right?"

"Yeah, mom. You know I'm not the type to do anything reckless."

Ness said those words through clenched teeth, remembering how he chased after Lucas with Mars and Ninten. She didn't _really_ need to know about that one.

"And here come your friends," Tracy said. "Wow! That's more than I expected."

"Thanks," Ness muttered.

"Oh, hey Paula!" Tracy shouted. "Long time no see!"

"Hi, Tracy," Paula said, wearing a calm smile. "Nice to see that you're as Tracy-like as ever."

"What do you mean by _that?_ " Tracy asked.

"Just that you haven't changed one bit," Paula said. "Take it as a compliment."

Ness introduced Tracy and Linda to his friends. To her credit, Linda put on a believably pleased face when exchanging conversation with Ana. Tracy talked her mouth off with most of his friends but avoided Claus, a fact that the ginger seemed to find amusing.

During that time, Ana briefed him about the conflict with Paula's parents, although Ness probably could have guessed it on his own. Paula's parents planned on spending the entire month-long break with their daughter, an assumption which Paula meekly refuted. Her parents tried to insist that Paula stay with them in a way that Ninten described as "bullying" (Ana wasn't there to witness that part herself).

Ninten proceeded to snap at Paula's parents about how she should get to decide what to do with her life, which her parents found unacceptable (Ness grimaced, not surprised at all by that fact). Ana stepped in and talked to Paula directly, who continued to assert her desire about travelling with the rest of the group. Claus convinced them to head to Onett first so that Paula could work things out with her parents in the nearby town of Twoson and to give Ness some time with his family.

"So," Ana said. "Now that I'm done talking your ear off, shall we head to Onett? I think that I can teleport all of us over there, including your family."

"Teleportation?" Tracy asked. "That sounds so cool!"

"I'm not so sure…" Linda said. "I don't mean to nag, but does your teleport ever fail?"

"If it did, we just wouldn't move," Ana said. "It's perfectly safe unless I threw us in harm's way intentionally. You're going to need to trust my moral compass at least a little."

"Of course," Linda said, offering a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "In that case, Tracy and I will accept your offer graciously."

"What? You can't just accept for me!" Tracy protested.

"So are you declining?" Linda asked.

Tracy opened her mouth to speak and closed it, holding up a finger.

"Fine, mom," she grumbled. "I accept as well."

"I'm glad that everyone's on board," Ana said. "Ness, may I read your mind for a second so that I can visualize where I want to teleport?"

"Of course," Ness said, watching his mother's face tighten. "I trust you, Ana."

"Just make sure to push any unwanted thoughts to the back of your mind, all right?" Ana closed her eyes. "Hm… Yeah, I got it. Teleport."

By now, it didn't even surprise Ness how the world paled around him, leaving him in a state of bright light for a split second before appearing in the outskirts of Onett. Ness looked at all of the buildings and memories came flooding back. He remembered days spent playing in the arcade, trying to beat Tracy's high score and basking in glory when he finally managed to best her. He remembered the first time that he bought a hamburger on his own from the burger shop and tasting it with the added sweetness of independence.

 _I guess that was what drove me crazy for years after dad died,_ Ness thought. _I lived in the same place, but I couldn't relive any of those simple, happy memories. Now, coming back from a semi-active war zone… maybe I can see Onett in a new light._

"It looks like you missed this place, huh?" Ana asked. "I don't blame you. This looks like a perfect little town."

"It _looks_ that way," Tracy said. "But the people here are another story. Assholes, all of them."

"Tracy," Linda reminded. "Watch your language."

"Ass isn't even a bad word!" Tracy protested.

"I get what you mean, though," Ana said. "I lived in Podunk with Ninten and another small town called Snowman before that. It's so easy to romanticize this, but… a lot of judgment flies around in these little towns. It can be a nightmare for 'weird' families."

"Hey, Ness," Claus interrupted. "I know that you probably want to get settled and everything, but after that there's something that I want to show you."

"But you're not even from Earth," Ana said. "What would you possibly want to show Ness in his own town?"

"I think that Ness can figure it out."

Ness racked his brains for a possible reason. Claus had never been to Earth before, and he wanted to show Ness new in Onett… so it probably wasn't something that was in Onett all the time. Since Claus had never visited Earth before, it probably didn't come from Earth, either. Claus wanted to show Ness something that travelled between planets, but that still didn't give Ness any ideas. Why couldn't Claus say it out loud?

Maybe that was a clue in itself. Something that Claus didn't want anyone else to know about. Something that Claus figured Ness would figure out but nobody else. A secret shared between them, perhaps? One specific enough that Ness would remember it but general enough that his friends would recognize it?

Ness blinked. He knew a secret _exactly_ like that.

And its name was Lucas.

"Ah, looks like you got it," Claus said. "Meet me outside your house once you're settled in, all right?"

"What is he talking about, Ness?" Linda asked.

"It's… nothing."

 _Lucas,_ Ness thought. _Diana did mention that she teleported him over here. I guess she mentioned his exact location to Claus and not me… which explains why Claus was the one to suggest that we head to Onett._

"Ness," Linda chided. "Don't lie to your mother."

"It's nothing serious," Ness said. "Just… meeting a friend."

"Oh," Linda said, relief washing over his face. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"

Ana looked at Ness in shock. As he could see the wheels turning in her head, Ness felt butterflies well up in his stomach. Surely, she would piece together how his excuse didn't quite make sense.

Ness sighed. _This_ was why he didn't tell everything to his mom.

"Sounds exciting," Tracy said. "Well, you probably want to get home quickly so you can dump all of your crap off."

"Tracy…" Linda said.

"What? 'Crap' _actually_ isn't a bad word!"

Linda gave Tracy a look that said, _you know better._ Ness laughed out loud, surprised at how hearty it sounded.

"Hmph," Tracy muttered. "Are we going back to Playschool? Are 'stupid' and 'shut up' bad words too?"

In the midst of Tracy's distraction, Ness shot a glance at Claus. The ginger nodded.

It was time to meet Lucas again.

* * *

After Ness dropped his bags off at his house and looked at all of the silly decorations in his room to relive simpler times, Ness shouted goodbye and walked out of his house. It didn't take him long to find Claus; the psychic warrior leaned on a tree in a somehow tense way that made Ness wonder about his military background.

Ness had heard plenty of stories about veterans who had unconsciously trained their bodies to be alert at all times; Ness wondered if Claus was one of those people. That would explain the breastplate that he always wore… But Ness got the feeling that now wasn't the time to ask.

"Hey," Claus said. "You ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Ness sighed, glancing at the house next to his. "Empty. Of course."

"Hmm?" Claus asked.

"Pokey used to live in that house," Ness said. "But…" He harkened back to when he found Pokey's corpse in the middle of the school hallway. Tears clouded his vision. Why didn't Pokey get a chance to have a happy ending?

"You sure have a lot of sympathy for someone who bullied you," Claus said.

"I never hated him," Ness whispered. "Never ever. If you saw the way that his father treated him, you would probably agree."

"I don't know about that," Claus said. "I, like Ninten, am an asshole." He laughed, but there was no humor to it. "We never did find out who stabbed the poor guy, huh? At least we got to show him a little respect by crashing his funeral. Out of everyone, you probably cared about him the most." Claus paused, and then whispered, "Just like Lucas would have."

"I… didn't know," Ness said. "That Lucas cared so much about people, I mean."

"Of course you wouldn't," Claus said. "You've only seen the monster that I turned him into. You were a lot like him, before…"

"Before what?"

"Never mind," Claus said, shaking his head. "It's something that you probably don't want to hear. We're headed towards Giant's Step. I assume you know where that is?"

"Uh, yeah, but it's kind of off-limits."

"I guess we'll have to sneak in, then."

"Claus!"

"What? If someone catches us, we can say that we're psions on official duty. Most people here probably know jack shit about psionics and Ceres' legal system. Besides, Lucas is _already there,_ so really, it's our moral duty to go and rescue him."

"All right, all right," Ness said, glaring at Claus. "But don't expect this to become a habit! Follow me."

"Just like he would say," Claus whispered.

* * *

After some sneaking, climbing over fences, and spelunking (a word which Claus repeated while walking through the cave just to hear himself say it), Ness arrived at an exit. He smiled at the sunlight that streamed through. Ness stepped out into a clearing, squinting at the brightness. Sure enough, the ground was indented in an arrangement that looked like a giant had left a footprint behind. Lucas sat in what looked like the toe print.

"Ness!" Lucas exclaimed. "Thank you so much for coming to visit. I had no idea what to do with myself after you left! I mean, Diana's a nice person, I guess, but…" Lucas' face hardened. "Oh. It's _you._ "

It took Ness a second to realize that Lucas was talking to Claus.

"Hey there," Claus said, his voice uncharacteristically ashamed. "How are you doing?"

"What do you want?" Lucas asked, sneering at his brother. "I already told you that I don't want your protection anymore."

"It's not about that," Claus said.

"Oh, so you're protecting Ness?" Lucas asked. "Because I'm a dangerous savant, huh?"

"No, Lucas!" Ness said. "He just wanted to see you."

"But I don't want to see him," Lucas said. "Whenever I see his face, it takes all of my willpower to remember why I shouldn't summon my sword and slice him in two."

"Why?" Ness asked. "Why do you hate him so much?"

"A lot of reasons," Lucas said, laughing scornfully. "First, he abused me, physically and emotionally. Second, he guilted me into staying with him even though he knew that I would remain his tool."

"That's not true," Claus whispered. "What I did was awful, but I still cared about you. Just… in the wrong way."

"Third," Lucas said, "He killed our mother."

A deathly silence followed.

"Wait," Ness said. "What?"

"Lucas," Claus said. "Please. You don't mean that."

"I've heard you say that before before," Lucas said, sneering at Claus. "It was right after I decided to leave you back on Aphrodite, I think. And both now and then, I am dead serious. And for future reference…" Lucas' gaze grew icy as his voice dropped to a whisper, "Don't tell me what I do and don't mean."

Claus' face paled.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh, and that makes everything better, doesn't it?" Lucas asked. Imitating Claus' voice "I said hurtful things, but I didn't mean to actually _hurt_ you! Heh. What a joke."

"Claus," Ness said. "You didn't actually kill your mother, did you?"

"Of course not!" Claus exclaimed. "The starmen did."

"Starmen only go after psions," Lucas said. "They only went after us. _You_ killed her."

"She died trying to protect us!" Claus insisted.

"Maybe trying to protect me from you."

Out of everything that Lucas said, that line looked like it hurt Claus the most. Lucas' eyes flashed with guilt for a second before he shook his head and his gaze returned to iron.

"I see how it is," Claus said, turning around. His voice quivered, although Ness couldn't tell whether it came from sorrow or rage. "I guess I'll just leave you, then."

"Claus, wait!" Ness shouted.

"What?" Claus asked, turning back around. His eyes widened, and not by anything that Ness said. "Lucas! Run!"

Ness' whipped his head around to spot a dozen archers standing on top of the rocks that surrounded the clearing, their faces devoid of emotion. The way that they stood and drew back their arrows was just too stiff to be human.

 _Starmen,_ Ness realized. _They're starmen wearing human skin!_

Lucas leapt out of the way as an arrow landed in the ground next to him.

"Damn it!" Claus shouted. "Get back in the psyching cave! If we take one shot out here, we're dead!"

"What?" Ness shouted, dashing back into the cover of the cave. "Why?"

 _We're psions,_ he thought. _We can use our powers to survive a few arrows, right?_

Lucas bolted through the cave entrance, catching up to Ness and Claus in seconds.

"Diana explained this to me," Lucas said. "Giant's Step is a special place called a Sanctuary. No psionics work out there in the clearing."

"Not even our auras," Claus muttered. "So we're just as killable as anyone else."

Ness panted as the three of them kept running through the cave.

"We're out of its range," Claus said with a weak smile. "So don't worry about dying in one shot."

"Why go there?" Ness managed, his lungs burning.

"Why camp out in the Sanctuary?" Lucas asked. "It drains all of my psionic power, which accelerates the process of returning to a normal human. It's like pulling the plug to drain water instead of waiting for it all to evaporate. But the Sanctuary procedure comes with safety risks, as you just witnessed."

"Yeah," Claus said. "You almost got killed there."

Lucas shook his head.

"The arrow was going to hit my thigh," the savant said. "The starmen wanted to take me alive."

"Starmen?" Claus asked. "And what use would they have for you as a captive?"

"Why do they care about me at all?" Lucas asked. "I don't have any idea."

After another minute of running, the three of them hit a dead end.

"I think that we can rest here," Claus said. "If those really are starmen, then they can detect us with their PSI vision. The best that we can do is to find a place to fight."

"At least they can't teleport behind us if our backs are to the wall," Lucas said. "Do you two think that you can take them alone? I'm not supposed to summon my weapon or armor."

"I have a spare sword," Claus said, pulling a blade out of a sheath at his hip and handing it to Lucas. "You can use this."

"You're trusting me with a weapon after what I said to you?" Lucas asked.

"Hey, we all have to do it from time to time," Claus said. "I don't think that you _really_ want me dead."

"And if you're wrong?"

"Then I run the psych away."

Lucas nodded, accepting the explanation without further protest.

"Lucas," Ness panted. "Do you think… that you could… trust Claus again?"

"Maybe," Lucas said. "I trust him to kill starmen. He always liked to do that."

"But the starmen have to come to me first," Claus said. "So now we wait."

* * *

After about thirty minutes of waiting, it dawned on them that the starmen had probably given up and had no intention to attack them. Ness, Claus, and Lucas walked out of the cave, none of them sensing any starmen. After a few more minutes of searching, they found a pile of human corpses laying on the ground. When the starmen realized that they couldn't track down Lucas, they had jumped to their deaths. As consistent with Diana's explanation, they still looked like humans.

"Why did they take this way out?" Ness whispered.

"The sanctuary, remember?" Lucas said. "Once they teleported in, they couldn't go back out. They were so high up on the rocks that any jump would have been fatal, so I guess they leapt this way by chance."

"Another reminder of how dangerous this universe is," Claus said. "They could have easily been us."

"If only." Lucas sighed. "My death would solve many problems."

Ness and Claus exchanged a worried glance. It looked like Lucas still had a long way to go, and in more ways than one.


	27. Chapter 22: Not so Happy After All

**Hey, guys! :) My computer's giving me a lot of troubles, so I switched over to my really crappy laptop that my parents wanted me to throw out years ago. We'll see how this goes. :P**

 **This is one of those ANs where I get defensive about a controversial issue that's discussed in the chapter, so you may want to read this one.**

 **Okay, so as you guys have probably noticed, a lot of characters in this fic have an anti-religion bias. I don't think I've talked about it too heavily before because I don't expect the demographic of people who read fanfics to be _super_ prickly about that sort of stuff and it hasn't been too bad in the past, but Ninten says some things this chapter that are pretty rude towards the Catholic religion (although he _does_ apoligize for them!). **

**This has all been hinted at in the story, but I kind of want to spell it out since it can be hard to look at subtleties when dealing with someone loud and slightly obnoxious like Ninten. Religion was stamped out in the times of the empire, so only nobles got away with partaking in it. Regular people were supposed to worship powerful psion leaders as gods, but they eventually realized how stupid that was and stopped. However, there wasn't really a replacement so most people now are agnostic/atheist (since most of them don't even really think about the prospect of a god, there's not a whole lot of difference between the two in this setting).**

 **Also, this society is less tolerant than today's society. You know how at least in America there's been this anti-Catholic bias throughout history that never really made a whole lot of sense? Yeah, it's kind of like that here, but it's the non-religious people instead of the Protestants who carry that bias (the Protestant Reformation didn't happen in this universe, by the way). So kind of taking a dump on religion is less taboo in this fic than it is irl (and people still do it irl so...).**

 **Okay, let me recap. Ninten's anti-religious/anti-Catholic bias isn't mine. We cool? :)**

 **I mean, I get it if you find his words jarring (because they can definitely be seen that way), but a lot of people in this universe think that way because of a different history. Make of that what you will.**

 **So now that I'm done trying to explain that I'm not super judgmental towards religion, it's time to respond to some reviews.**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Heh, it's so true and you haven't even seen all of it yet. xD We'll be delving into a couple characters today who have issues. Ah, I don't mind if you don't read my boring ANs. They're basically me rambling for way too long so I'd be surprised if a lot of people _did_ read them. Yep, this will be longer than Book 1. Oh yeah, the truth about what happened to Hinawa will be coming later (3rd round of interludes), but I definitely still have it planned. It was the mystery presented in the prologue of the first fic, after all, so I need to address it eventually! See you! :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Oh really? I'm not really known for my humor, so that took be by surprise haha. Ah, thanks. :) I don't remember how I came up with the idea for the sanctuaries, but I was like "eh why not let's add it in." Yeah, if Lucas turns back into a human he'll be able to summon a sword and armor, but he won't have superhuman skill with it.

 **crabbyTomato:** Eh, it's summer and I don't have a job or anything (my relatives are _way_ too generous with graduation money/gifts so I don't need one). Yeah, I still remember your fanfic. You're on the last chapter, right? I've been looking forward to that. D: But yeah, take as much time as you need for it. Yep, normal book stuff like struggles between interpersonal relationships that conflict on hot topics (thus the huge defensive AN above). Scaraba is coming... later. xD Yeah, not for a while. Wow, people actually use the items to heal status conditions? I always just used PSI. And I know, Jeff got sunstroke so often in EarthBound. Must come from living in Winters; the poor kid has no defenses against the heat... I don't know if that's actually valid reasoning, but whatever. To be honest, I just wanted to get Juno out of the story because she's not really an interesting villain when compared to someone like Morgan. Also, I'm trying to thin out my character pool a little... other OCs Beware. :D Actually, LOVE's identity won't be discovered for a while. Like... a long while. And it's someone mentioned in passing that you probably don't even remember. I'll drop hints when we get closer to the reveal (which probably isn't going to be that exciting anyway).

Yep, Tracy's a lot of fun to write. :) I'm toying with the idea of giving her a bigger part later on. Tracy is just Tracy. There's no other reason behind her actions. xD Yeah, I just came up with Linda for Ness' mom's name since it was the first thing I could think of. Well, maybe they did confuse Ninten for Ness, just offscreen. Although, Ness and Ninten do carry themselves in quite different ways, so it's not super hard to tell. Ah, thanks. :) There are other Sanctuaries included in this fic, but not all of them since they're not part of anyone's mission (expect to see Rainy Circle, Pink Cloud, Lumine Hall, and Fire Spring sometime in the future). I just love the way that you described Fassad there. xD The word "slimy" really gets the point across. See you! :)

 **PSIBoy:** Hey, don't worry about it! I totally get it; life happens. :) Yep, there are going to be more conflicts, and the gang's going to get dragged back into global/universal issues sooner or later. Yep, Lucas is the type to hold grudges for a long time and what Claus did to him _was_ pretty awful. It's a safe bet that their relationship won't ever go back to being totally happy ever again. And yeah, Lucas is pretty messed up so I wouldn't take anything he says as foreshadowing. Yay, I actually created a mysterious character (it's something that I'm usually terrible at). I guess what helped me a lot with the mysteriousness is character motive: Mr. Agerate has a very good reason for not wanting to reveal a lot about himself, so it's easier for me to visualize the character and how he would act. And yeah, the situation on Ceres is pretty bleak, but we're not covering that for a while. Don't expect to see a whole lot of Poo or Kumatora before this fic ends and I move onto the third one.

Oh, and the Mr. Agerate mystery will be (mostly) resolved by the end of this book. I don't know if that's what you were referring to, but I just thought I'd let you know. :)

Yep, Giygas' influence is growing... although I depict him as perceiving the passage of time quickly, so he'll just pop in randomly months later and to him it's like popping in seconds later. It's been super hard to write someone so overpowering and without a clear motive. OP villains aren't my specialty; I do better with people like Morgan. Yep, the Vulcan campaign basically crushed the empirists, although Morgan sure as psych isn't going to give up yet... ;) Yeah, the story's not going to move a whole lot for a while... I'm taking a break from the large-scale plot to focus in on characters that need some more explaining done about them. All right; I'll be looking forward to your PM! See you later! :)

* * *

 _This is an unrelated rant, but I need to get this out._

 _Before coming to Ceres, I never really thought about gender roles. My father's cultism, while undeniably horrible, was refreshingly egalitarian. When I arrived on Ceres, it never even occurred to me that others would see my gender as a weakness._

 _I don't care about that. What bugs me more is when people judge all women based off of me. Ex-noble politicians do this all of the time without realizing it. When a man fails as a president, he just wasn't fit for the job. But when a woman fails as a president… Well, obviously that means women just don't lead countries well._

 _That puts a lot of stress on me. It makes me feel like I have to lash out and stand out an extra notch to silence all of the doubters. But in the end, I know that the pressure leads me to make bad choices._

 _Because while this doesn't absolve me of my genocide in any way, I did think about how weak and feminine I would seem if I didn't do everything in my power to stop Giygas before dropping the nuclear bombs on Aphrodite._

 _It was the final push that I needed to pull the switch and end the lives of millions._

* * *

It didn't take long for Ninten to realize that there was nothing to do in Onett. Well, there were _some_ things to do, but none of them interested him for more than an hour. How could someone psyching _live_ here?

Then again, Ninten had lived in Podunk, a town even smaller than this, for all of his life. How did he survive that? To this day, he still couldn't come up with an explanation.

And while he did express interest in a few activities, Paula's suggestions clashed with his own. Ninten thought that visiting the arcade would be awesome; Paula preferred to stare at dusty books in the library. He supposed that she just didn't appreciate the beauty of video games that were designed to suck as much money out of a poor child's pocket as possible.

So they just kind of… hung out. They talked about pleasant things, safe things. The weather. How school was going. Favorite colors (Ninten's was deep blue; Paula's was lime green). Anything to avoid thinking about the war on Vulcan.

After a couple of hours, they decided to check in with Ness and Claus. They found Ness standing under a tree right outside of his house, contemplating something with a fierce intensity that Ninten didn't want to mess with. He heard Paula take a deep breath and exhale slowly. He guessed that Ness still scared her more than she wanted to let on.

After an awkward minute of standing and watching Ness' facial expression, Ness looked up and locked eyes with Ninten.

"How long were you standing there?" he asked.

"Not long," Ninten said. "What were you thinking about so ferociously back there?"

"…Nothing."

Ness' face paled. He blinked twice, as if waking up from a trance.

"Ness, you're a terrible actor."

"Fine," Ness said. "It's something. You know how Mr. Carpainter claimed that starmen could turn into humans to disguise themselves? He was right. Diana said it herself."

Ninten could almost _feel_ the rage coming from Paula. Nobody really liked cultists, but Paula took them as a personal insult. Maybe Ninten should talk to her about that…

"You met with Diana Carpainter?" Ninten asked. "Alone?"

"Not alone," Ness said. "And that's not the point. Anyone that we know could be a starman. _I_ could be one, standing right here. You would never know."

"Except starmen don't understand human society," Ninten said. "It would be easy to spot them out."

"I guess you're right," Ness said. "By the way, have either of you seen Ana? I checked around Onett, and I couldn't find her."

"She told me that she went off to Twoson," Paula said, flinching when Ness turned his gaze to her. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault that she decided to explore another town," Ness said.

"I didn't mean that," Paula whispered. "I'm still scared of you."

 _Man,_ Ninten thought. _She needs to turn down the guilt meter a couple notches. Fearing someone doesn't make you a terrible person._

"Oh," Ness said. "It's okay. I was wondering, though…"

"You were wondering _why_ I'm scared of you," Paula said. It wasn't a question.

Ness gulped and nodded. Paula smiled, poorly concealing her unease.

"It's okay," she said. "I don't mind that question. I just can't answer it right now. For that, if nothing else, I'm sorry."

"No!" Ness protested. "Don't feel bad!"

 _Great,_ Ninten thought. _This is going to turn into a giant self-pity fest if I don't do something quickly. I can just hear both of them saying "No, I'm the horrible one! Stop blaming yourself!"_

"Hey Ness," Ninten said. "How about Paula and I go find Ana while you keep on with that whole thinking business? Twoson's not far from here, right?"

"It's not far," Ness said. "And I would appreciate it if you would find her. I know that I shouldn't worry about her because she's more mature than most adults that I know, but…"

"But you still do," Paula said. "It's natural to worry about people you love."

 _Um,_ Ninten thought. _Is that directed at me?_

"I guess so," Ness said. "I think that my mom's preparing dinner, so I should probably stick around here."

"Got it," Ninten said. "Do you want to come with me, Paula?"

"Sure," she said. "What else am I going to do, anyway?"

"Nothing in _this_ glorified village," Ninten muttered under his breath.

* * *

It took Ninten and Paula about thirty minutes to reach Twoson. The towns lay so close together that Ninten wondered why they needed to be separate in the first place. He asked Paula, but she didn't know.

"Wow," Paula said as they walked past a pizza parlor that gave off the scent of fresh dough. "This brings back a lot of memories."

Ninten nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"I noticed something when we talked earlier," Paula said. "When I say something, you usually respond carefully, if at all."

"I just don't want to offend you," Ninten said. "Since my normal attitude is pretty offensive."

"But don't you see?" Paula asked. "That's what I like about you."

"You like that I'm offensive?"

"I like that you don't candy coat things. I'm sick of my parents with their honeyed words and false promises. So here I find a boy who's not afraid to speak his mind but is also a genuinely sweet and kind person. Is it really any wonder that I fell in love with you?"

"Sweet and kind?" Ninten asked. "Me? You're probably thinking of someone else."

"…If a little delusional at times," Paula muttered under her breath.

"I heard that!"

"See? The shock in your voice was genuine. That's an improvement."

Ninten rolled his eyes.

"I'll stop teasing you," Paula said. "But seriously, don't be afraid to say what you're thinking. And don't stop from telling me that something I do is wrong, either. You were the one who taught me that I need to grow."

 _I did?_ Ninten thought. _When? Besides, she's the one acting all mature. I think that I could learn a couple things from her._

"I… guess I can do that," Ninten said. "So, do you have any idea where Ana would be?"

"Nope," Paula said. "But this town is almost as small as Onett. If she came here, people would notice her. We just need to ask around."

"That's a good idea. Let's start with those two… Oh psych. Those are your parents, aren't they?"

Paula whipped around, her eyes panicked as she studied the two people approaching them. The man walked with booming confidence that made him look fake while the woman took impractically petite steps as she lagged behind.

 _Yep,_ Ninten thought. _Definitely ex-noble behavior._

"Hi mom," Paula said, her voice sweet yet icy. "Hi dad. When did you two get back?"

"About thirty minutes ago," the man said, walking up to Paula and Ninten. "I still can't believe that you abandoned us to socialize with a bunch of commoners." He looked at Ninten, scrunching up his nose. "Ah, delightful. You even brought one with you."

 _If I didn't know better, I'd think that this was some elaborate joke,_ Ninten thought. _This over-the-top stuffiness just seems like it can't be real._

"Dad," Paula said, drawing out the word to show disapproval. "Don't say that about my friends!"

"Oh, so they're your friends now? Where will you draw the line, sweetie? How do I know that you won't play in the mud with pigs by the time that you go back to school? I thought that a renowned education system would teach you better than that."

 _I got compared to a pig,_ Ninten thought, cracking a humorous smile. _Well, it's not the first time…_

Paula didn't seem to find it nearly as funny.

"Dad!" she said. "That's a horrible thing to say."

"Your 'friend' here knows that it's true," Paula's dad said, gesturing towards Ninten.

"Actually, I just found it amusing that you call us commoners even though we would have outranked you in the days of the empire because of our psionic capabilities," Ninten said.

Paula's dad stiffened.

"Need I remind you what they did to nobles born without psionics in the days of your precious empire?" Ninten asked, flashing what he hoped was an infuriating smile. "Here's a hint. It has something to do with an axe and an executioner."

"You need to learn some respect," Paula's dad growled. Turning to Paula, "And _you_ are coming home with your mother and I right now."

"Your mother and me," Ninten corrected under his breath.

"Actually," Paula said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I think that I'll stay right where I am."

"Watch what you say, young woman!" said Paula's mother as she finally caught up to her husband. "I thought that I raised you better than that!"

 _"Geez,"_ Ninten said telepathically. _"And I thought that my parents were bad."_

 _"Well, my parents aren't_ that _bad…"_

 _"…"_

 _"Okay, maybe they are,"_ Paula admitted. _"But at least they care about me."_

 _"They have strange ways of showing it."_

"Hello to you too, mom," Paula said. "How's the preschool coming along?"

"Now don't you try to change the subject," Mrs. Polestar said. "You're in big trouble when we get home, Paula Polestar!"

 _"You know that they're serious when they use your last name,"_ Ninten said telepathically.

Paula cracked a smile.

"What is that?" Mr. Polestar asked. "Do you have something to say?"

"If she did, you might want to listen," Ninten said. "She's a psion, remember? You probably don't want to mess with her."

"Maybe she doesn't fear us," Mr. Polestar said. "But she should still fear the wrath of god like a decent human being."

 _Right,_ Ninten thought dryly. _Because fear is the most ethical way to keep people in line._

"Oh, where are my manners?" Paula said, ignoring her parents' biting words. "I still need to introduce you to each other. Ninten, these are my parents."

"Duly noted."

"Shush," Paula said, although she covered up a laugh. "Mom and dad, this is Ninten, my, er… ah, boyfriend. We met at the astroport, remember?"

Ninten would have paid a golden dollar to see the look of utter shock on Mr. and Mrs. Polestar's faces a second time. He thought that they would have guessed that a romantic relationship was taking place between them by how fiercely he defended Paula at the astroport, but he supposed that this wouldn't be the last surprise coming from the Polestars.

"Your…" Mrs. Polestar whispered in a hushed tone.

"Boyfriend?" Her husband finished in the same, disbelieving voice.

Ninten covered his mouth with his hands to keep from laughing. Paula blushed, looking away from her parents.

"Yeah," Paula said. "I know that you don't approve, but… my feelings for him are real."

Psych. Why did it always feel so nice to hear that?

"Sweetie," Mr. Polestar said, as if explaining to a crying child why they need to get potty trained. "You're too young for that sort of thing."

"I know that you don't think that I can love to my fullest extent at this age," Paula said. "And maybe I can't. But even if what I don't feel is really love, there's _something_ inside of me that wants this."

"Your name is… Ninten?" Mrs. Polestar asked. "What's your family name?"

Ninten was tempted to tell the truth, but nobody would believe that his last name was really "Lorune."

"Don't have one," Ninten said. "Just Ninten."

"Oh my," Mrs. Polestar said. "Our precious Paula fell in love with a _commoner?_ "

"And likely a heretic at that," Mr. Polestar added.

"…I'm an atheist, yes," Ninten said carefully.

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Polestar explained. "We need to find a godly man for our dear Paula, not someone who will tempt her to the devil."

"Mom," Paula said. "Ninten's a wonderful person. In fact, he gives me the strength to carry out god's will. Even though he doesn't believe, he serves god in his own way."

"Paula, Paula," Mr. Polestar said. "You don't understand how these people think. These common-born heretics will treat you roughly. Trust me on this one, my dear."

Ninten raised an eyebrow. Paula gritted her teeth.

"Ninten's not like that!" Paula shouted. "He cares about me as a person. He helps me improve myself. Someone you picked out to court me would probably see me as little more than a symbol of status."

"He's just doing that to gain your trust," Mr. Polestar said, shaking his head. "I've met his kind before. It's so tempting to act like them, to lie and deceive. It's easier to be an atheist and never feel remorse, but you shall be rewarded if you choose conviction and faith over self-indulgence. Come back to us, Paula. Come back to walk the path of the virtuous."

Now _that_ set Ninten off.

"Atheists don't feel remorse?" he asked, raising his voice. "Even though without remorse, we never would have survived in the wild?"

"Out in the wild?" Mr. Polestar looked confused for a second. "Ah, you're one of those people who think that we descended from monkeys."

"No, both monkeys and us descended from a common ancestor," Ninten said. "Besides, we're more closely related to great apes than monkeys."

"Ninten," Paula said. "My parents don't believe in evolution."

Ninten blinked. They didn't _believe_ in evolution even though it was verifiable by simple observation? Did they not believe in nuclear chemistry, either? Did they just assume that when Minerva detonated uranium-filled bombs, they just _happened_ to explode in catastrophic proportions due to random chance?

"See, so presumptuous," Mrs. Polestar said, wrinkling her nose. "Your boyfriend rejects god and his designs out of arrogance alone."

"Oh, and it's not psyching _arrogant_ to assume that there's a god out there even though you don't have any evidence? It's not _arrogant_ to say that the vast majority of people will go to hell just because you're not comfortable about their beliefs? It's not _arrogant_ to take everything that you read in the bible literally, knowing that a combination of inaccurate recall and cultural differences lead to some pretty wild conclusions?"

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Polestar said. "How rude. Paula, dear, did you have to court someone without _any_ semblance of civility?"

"Right," Ninten said coldly. "If I say something that you don't like, it's uncivil. If I hold opinions grounded in logic rather than superstition, it's uncivil. Tell me, is it psyching _civil_ of your priests to molest children? You religious types think that we're immoral, but you just play the part because you think that you'll be rewarded. How is that any different from bribery? Your entire moral system is based on corruption!"

 _That_ got the shocked reaction that Ninten was looking for. However, Ninten's smug smile faded after a mere second once he looked at Paula's similarly surprised expression.

"I mean…" Ninten said, suddenly wishing that he could take back everything that he had said.

"Go away," Mr. Polestar growled. "Go away and never show your face again."

"But-"

"GO AWAY!"

Tears stung Ninten's eyes, more from surprise than anything else. He wiped them away, convincing himself that he wouldn't show weakness in front of Paula's parents. He looked into Mr. Polestar's eyes and saw the anger of a man who would do anything to get what he had wanted. Ninten had seen that exact expression on a different person once before, on a person that had ruined his entire childhood.

Ninten turned heel and ran as fast as he could.

The next minutes passed in a blur. He found himself sitting underneath a tree, hugging his knees and weeping silently. He didn't know how he got there, and he wasn't sure if the tears came from guilt or sorrow. Paula's horrified face haunted his thoughts, but the terrifying image of her father pushed lesser emotions aside. It didn't make any sense. Mr. Polestar didn't know psionics. He couldn't hurt Ninten if he spent his entire lifetime trying. So why did his expression make Ninten want to run to the edge of the Earth?

Ninten knew the answer to that. It was one that came from someone in his childhood, someone with actual power to compliment his malicious nature. He didn't wish to think about further.

Still, thoughts came to his mind. A black sack, woven tightly enough to hold water and large enough to engulf a bookshelf. A golden throne standing amidst walls of purple crystals. A face with wrinkles, hard eyes, and his own reflection staring back at him.

Ugly indeed.

After a time that Ninten couldn't specify, he noticed Paula sitting next to him. He scooted away from her in shame.

"I'm sorry," Paula whispered. "My father…"

"I said terrible things," Ninten whispered. "Horrible things about your beliefs."

"They weren't _that_ bad…"

"I said that none of you were moral because you believed in heaven. That's pretty bad."

"All right, they weren't the nicest," Paula said with a sigh. "But I've heard worse. Way worse. Please, don't feel bad about it. I said that I appreciated your honesty, right? So I can't really blame you for speaking your mind."

"It's possible to speak my mind without being an asshole," Ninten said. "You were horrified back there. You hate me, don't you?"

"Of course not!"

"You should."

 _And you judge Paula and Ness for their self-pity?_ Ninten asked himself. _Come on, get a hold of yourself._

"Ninten, everyone understands how emotional you are under your 'tough guy' attitude. You shouldn't judge yourself so harshly for a single outburst. "

"Emotional?" Ninten asked, perking up. "What makes you think that I'm emotional?"

Paula rolled her eyes.

"Besides this!" Ninten said.

"When you stood up for me against Ms. Monotoli," Paula said. "When you stood up for Ness against Tony. Everyone can see it, Ninten. You care so much about everything that goes on in the universe. You just try to hide it." Paula sighed. "I envy that, actually. A lot of times, I can't bring myself to feel much of anything."

"Really?" Ninten asked. "You always seemed so…"

"Sensitive?" Paula asked. "That's not naturally who I am. You can ask Ness about how I acted when we were friends. I was always friendly, supportive… but never passionate. Not like you."

"I never knew."

"Well, it doesn't really matter," Paula said. "I just said this, but I don't blame you at all for bashing my religion like you did. It's your natural response to my parents trying to shove it up your ass."

Ninten blinked.

"Oh, come on," Paula said. "It's not _that_ surprising to hear me swear."

"It kind of is. But I wasn't shocked at that. I'm amazed that you'll forgive me so quickly. It looked like I hurt you a lot back there."

"It… was easier to see your points when listening to my parents complaining about you afterwards," Paula said. "Besides, I knew that you would forgive me if I said something stupid about your beliefs. And again, what you said isn't even that stupid. I know some people who fit your description pretty well." Paula smiled. "It's just not a great idea to apply those qualities to such a large group of people."

"I know," Ninten said. "I'm sorry."

"See, this is what I mean when I say that you're so genuine," Paula whispered. "That's probably the most sincere apology I received, and it was one that I didn't even deserve."

She scooted over and hugged Ninten.

"Whoa," Ninten said. "Are you sure about this?"

"Doesn't it feel good?" Paula asked. "Besides, it's not like we're even kissing. I swear, you're more sensitive about this stuff than my _parents_ are."

"This… is actually pretty nice," Ninten said, hugging Paula back. "It's like I can feel all of my anger drain away. Oh man, this actually feels amazing."

"You're just like Ness," she said. "When we were friends, I used to comfort him like this all the time."

"I guess I need you more than you need me, huh?" Ninten asked.

"No, I need this too. Like I said, I'm not an emotional person. Without someone like you, my life will get pretty dull. And if I'm back with my parents… I'll grow bitter again. You give me life."

"I guess I must have made a terrible impression on your parents, huh?" Ninten asked, grimacing.

"I don't really care what they think about you," Paula said. "I'm not going to see them for another five months anyway."

"So they're not forcing you to stay with them?"

"Oh, they'll _try,_ " Paula said. "But like you said, I'm a psion. I basically outrank them. I'm in this with you."

Ninten was surprised at how happy it made him to hear those words.

"Now, shall we go back to looking for Ana?" Paula asked. "Or do you want to stay here a little longer?"

Oh right. Ana.

"I'm fine," Ninten said, jumping to his feet. "Yeah, let's go find Ana. We still need to ask townspeople, right?"

"I came across a man named Everdred who told me that Ana went off into Peaceful Rest Valley." Her face soured. "He was quite helpful _after_ I threatened him with psionics for trying to pick my pocket."

"Ah, that was lucky."

"Actually, I expected to run into him. This place that you wandered into isn't called 'Burghlin Park' for nothing."

"Wow," Ninten said. "That's… original."

"I know, right?" Paula asked, rolling her eyes. "Everdred said that Ana looked panicked about something as she passed by. But she's not an Eaglelander, right? I don't know what sort of connections she would have with Peaceful Rest Valley."

"This is Ann we're talking about here," Ninten said. "She always knows more than she should."

Paula nodded, standing up and walking towards the sunset in the distance. Ninten followed her, realizing that he had no idea where he actually was. Paula led him out of the area and pointed out the "Burghlin Park" sign. It looked even funnier on paper. When Ninten asked why it looked like so many vendors set up their wares in such a shady place, Paula shrugged and guessed that it was part of the culture. Sort of like a black market… but in plain sight.

Ninten chuckled at that. He had heard to many gruesome stories from his father Teddy about the black markets in Ellay that this almost looked like a child's attempt to resist authority. He shared a couple of the milder ones with Paula.

Once, his father bought a forged, Eagleish passport at a suspiciously low price and the vendor sent a young girl to steal it back just minutes later. Another time, Ninten's father witnessed a crossbow vendor shoot a customer after a heated debate and nobody batted an eye. Paula seemed genuinely surprised at the dishonesty and aggression of people in downtown Ellay, and those were the kid-friendly stories.

Ninten wanted to think that he shared the milder ones out of respect for Paula's sensitivities, but the truth was that he didn't feel comfortable even _thinking_ about some of the more graphic stories.

He focused so much of his attention on his chat with Paula that she had to point out when they reached Peaceful Rest Valley. They emerged from a tunnel to see a river slicing the land in two. After shouting Ana's name and receiving no answer, Paula and Ninten decided to split up. Paula would search the near side of the bank while Ninten would cross over the bridge and search the other side.

"Just be careful," Paula said. "A group of cultists like in a town past the far side of the river. They call themselves the happy-happyists, but it's pretty obvious that their 'happiness' is nothing that you want to mess with. Treat those people like you would treat an addictive drug."

"Fine in small doses?" Ninten asked.

"You know what I mean. It might be tempting to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I've heard stories about them tossing random strangers into the river."

"That's not too bad, considering that we're talking about a cult."

"I know. Just… be careful, all right? Rumor has it that Carpainter's cultists on Vulcan stemmed from this organization."

A chill ran down Ninten's spine. If these people were anything like Apollo Carpainter… Well, he would be stupid to ignore Paula's warnings. After assuring her several times that he wouldn't do anything reckless (since when was she the one worried about him?), they parted ways and Ninten walked to the other side of the bridge.

After a few minutes of searching, he found a pair of people lying on the ground with severe burn marks covering their skin. Ninten couldn't tell what they looked like due to blue masks that covered their faces. He bent down and took a pulse. Neither of them were alive.

Ninten felt a twinge of sorrow, and then guilt at the fact that he didn't feel more. He bawled his eyes out after Paula's father _looked_ at him but he couldn't feel more than a prick of emotion when he saw a pair of dead people lying on the ground? It was the same with the people that Lucas murdered back on Vulcan. Ninten knew that he should feel something powerful, something aching, but he just… didn't.

Ninten reminded himself that he could solve this existential crisis later. The burn marks indicated a psion's work, and since Ninten already knew that Ana passed through this area… it seemed likely that she did this. These people were probably corpses, then. Ana would only attack someone like this who attacked her first.

…Right?

Ninten closed his eyes and reached out with his psionic senses. In the distance, he spotted a psionic aura. Ana's, probably. Ninten walked away from the riverbank, heading towards the source of the aura.

Along the way, he encountered a few more corpses. He took pulses and examined burn marks. The same psion killed all of these people.

As Ninten rounded a corner and peeked behind one of the many rock formations in the area, he spotted Ana sitting down. She cradled a child's head in her lap. The boy wore the standard, blue outfit that the other cultists did, but his mask lay on the ground next to him, revealing a youthful face that allowed Ninten to identify the boy as being about nine or ten years of age. Blue paint covered his lips and the area around his mouth.

The boy's eyes were softly closed. His chest didn't rise or fall.

Ninten looked over at Ana. Tears ran down her face; she didn't make a sound. Her left sleeve was rolled up and a knife lay embedded in her arm. Her sleeve rolled up… Ninten realized in horror that she must have known that someone would stab her and she didn't want to get blood on her shirt. Which probably meant that…

Ninten gasped, looking at the scars across her arm. There were dozens, and each one looked like it came from that same knife.

None of the cultists stabbed her. She inserted that knife into her flesh herself. And by the looks of it, this wasn't the first time. Not by far.

Ana's eyes flashed upwards, pinned right on Ninten's face.

"Ninten!" she exclaimed. "How…"

In that moment, Ninten glimpsed more fear in her eyes than he had ever seen before.


	28. Chapter 23: False Smiles

**It's a Monday, so that means that we're getting another chapter! :) I would have uploaded it earlier, but I was busy watching the most recent Smash Project M tournament on youtube (I can say Project M and not have my account get taken down, right?).**

 **No defensive "I'm not a bigot!" intro this time, so I'll get right into the review responses :)**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Well, it's not like there would be a reason for the characters to know everything. :P Except for Agerate. He knows all. I know, Ninten's like the most emotional character in this entire fic. Yeah, I've had this Ana scene planned since the beginning of the fic. Well... not the details, but a lot of her dialogue has been locked away in my head since August.

 **DarkFoxKit:** You're about to find out! ;) Yeah, I think that Ninten's rant is... not entirely unexpected considering how Paula's parents acted. xD But regardless of circumstance, his words were a little jarring so I thought I'd add in my disclaimer. The reason for Paula's fear... give it like 10 chapters. :P We've got another Ninten chapter up; I wouldn't make you wait with another PoV after that intro.

 **A Fan:** Thanks! :)

 **crabbyTomato:** Well, we have different experiences there. For me, I usually think of the ending right when I start the story, so it's super well thought out by the time I get there (like I could just write the last few chapters for the entire Ceres trilogy right now and it would still be just as good as if I waited to write everything else first). Well, good luck! :) Well, I didn't want to force sanctuaries in since they weren't really an integral part of the story... and it hints that some characters will be going into the middle of nowhere at some point, right? ;) Yeah, it's hard not to write Fassad as a total villain, but I'm kind of trying to in this fic. He's not a major character, so it's hard to give him a lot of depth, but... we'll see where he goes. :) I think Paula's reason to be scared of Ness is legit, but we'll have to wait a while for your reaction.

Yeah, it wasn't hard at all to get inspiration for that fight between Ninten and Paula's parents. xD I actually saw someone on the internet who said that people who don't believe in God can't feel remorse, and I made a note to remember that for this exact scene. And we're about to see what Ana did... and what she's going to do.

 **Phoesong:** Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. I'm not the one studying for the MCAT. :) Ah yes, angst. The pinnacle of most young adult literature. Yeah, in this fic I've been trying to go closer to canon with references than in fic 1 of Ceres. Thus my additions of Frank Fly, Lloyd, Captain Strong, and Gerardo Montague. There will be more later... a lot of them next chapter, actually. Yeah, the part where Lumine Hall is visited is one of the weirdest chapters I've written... hopefully it will work out. :) Yeah, Juno's one of those characters that I wish I could just... delete. xD I guess I came as close as I could to that. And yes, this Ana thing has been in the works for a while, so I'm glad that I finally got to write it. :) Hopefully I did her character justice, since there's like a 3k word argument between her and Ninten. :/

Yeah, it's weird to think that some people actually see the world that way. Although, I know plenty of Christians who see the world in the same basic way that I do (I'm not Chrisitan, btw), so I'm starting to think that it's not as big of an influence on personality as some would think... I view the causation going the other direction, actually (that already close-minded people go to the extremes of any religion or extreme atheism so that they have an excuse for blocking other views out). But hey, what do I know? Which is why I can see why you would see relationships between people of different religions that way, but I would argue that religion isn't the causative variable in those situations; perhaps they're just naturally not good fits and religion is the canary in the coal mine. But again, what do I know? xD And yeah, Ninten doesn't really care that Paula says that, but he's still quite a... staunch atheist. He rejects all notions of religion on a principle other than logic, but he isn't really bothered by them. And yeah, we'll see how Lucas and Claus get along. :) And hey, mistakes happen and a double post isn't even really consequential. I'm just glad that you reviewed. :)

* * *

 _Do I really deserve to be punished for what I have done?_

 _I find the idea of justice through revenge quite archaic, honestly. The main purpose of such punishment is that it serves to make others afraid, but I don't support a system that uses fear to control civilians. And while it can feel good to see a bad guy locked up or executed, reform rather than revenge should be our aim._

 _It's interesting to analyze old, religious texts that fail to recognize this due to the relatively primitive nature of their culture. Just look at the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. God as represented in that book uses his wrath to make his followers fear him. He claims to represent good, and perhaps that was better than what his contemporaries did, but a similar character would be portrayed as a villain today. If God is real, I suspect that he is far less petty and spiteful than some of the earlier cultures made him out to be._

 _That takes me back to my sin. Yes, I dropped nuclear weapons on Aphrodite. No, I shouldn't have done it. But I learned from that mistake and I won't repeat it. Dangerous criminals deserve to be locked up to protect civilians, but I'm not really a danger anymore._

 _So should I suffer when it would be ultimately meaningless?_

* * *

"Ana," Ninten said. "The boy in your lap. Is he…?"

Ana looked down at the boy in the blue outfit.

 _Oh,_ her expression seemed to say. _Him. Not me and my self-harm._

"He's dead," she said, her voice soft yet harsh. "Damned cultists."

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Ninten asked.

"I don't really _want_ to," Ana said with a humorless chuckle. "But I guess I probably should, huh?"

"Your choice."

"And would you really be okay if I just got up and left like nothing ever happened?"

"Maybe not entirely."

"Exactly. Explaining what happened is the least that I can do." Ana cleared her throat. "This boy tried to run away from the cultists. I found some of them chasing him. I killed as many as I could, but it was too late." She averted her gaze. "They forced him to drink paint until he choked to death."

Ninten looked at the boy's paint-stained lips and grimaced. He imagined the boy sputtering and coughing with desperate eyes as Ana watched him die.

"He was alive when I got to him," Ana said, "But I couldn't save him. It didn't matter how hard I tried or how much I wanted it. I couldn't save him…"

Looking at Ana's face nearly broke Ninten's heart. He glanced back and forth between her and the nameless boy. In death, the boy almost looked peaceful.

"It's all a lie," Ana said. "He looks content, but only because I adjusted his body. He squirmed and flailed until he passed out and died. Whenever I think about how much he could have done in his life… it just makes me want to give up, you know?"

"I know," Ninten said. "But you've never been the type to quit, Ann. Neither of us are. There are lots of people out there who still need your help."

"You don't know half of what you think you do about me," Ana said. "I don't quit, but that's just because I never start anything for real. Look at this child, Ninten. I couldn't help him; I couldn't save him. I only created the illusion of peace and support. That's all I ever do. I make smoke and mirrors."

 _You call him a child, but you're not much older than one yourself,_ Ninten thought.

"You did all that you could, Ann."

"It wasn't enough!" Ana paused, taking a deep breath. "It really doesn't matter that I tried. He's still dead. No amount of good intention can bring him back."

"In that case, you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. If you couldn't control it-"

"Then why even try?" Ana finished.

"I was going to say 'why blame yourself for it?'"

"Because I have expectations! I have morals!"

"And you acted according to those morals."

"It's moral to save people, not let them die!"

Ninten tried to wrap his head around Ana's thoughts. Whenever she couldn't accomplish something, she failed herself? Even if she tried as hard as she could? That way of thinking didn't make any sense at all!

"Are you saying that trying and failing to help is the same as not trying at all?" Ninten asked.

"Yes!" Ana said. "Exactly!"

"Are you psyching insane?"

Ana flinched. Ninten pushed down the guilt that he felt when she looked at him with betrayed eyes. After a second, she adopted a murderous scowl.

"Why does it matter if I try?" she demanded. "The boy's dead either way. His parents will still mourn his death… Or maybe they won't. Since they're probably brainwashed cultists, I doubt that they even care. He died alone and friendless. If you think that me _trying_ to help somehow solves anything then you're lying to yourself."

"So you're saying that only an action's consequences matter."

"Right."

"So when Minerva Carpainter killed 150 million people on Aphrodite, it didn't matter that she was trying to save the universe."

"Of course not." Ana snorted. "They're dead either way."

"Yeah, but does that make Minerva the worst person to ever exist?"

"Morally, yeah."

"Even though she tried to help?"

"She caused more pain and suffering than a dozen ironhanded emperors combined. That speaks louder than any justifications she can give."

"So is that what we are?" Ninten asked. "A bundle of actions? Does what's inside of us mean nothing?"

"Our actions reveal who we are on the inside."

"You sound exactly like Morgan."

Ninten stared Ana straight in the eye. She faltered, but only slightly.

"I guess we're more similar than I want to admit," Ana said. "I want to deny it, but I won't lie to myself."

Ninten cringed. He couldn't think of words more Morgan-esque than the ones Ana just uttered.

"But Morgan is right about this," Ana said. "You people treat failure like a consolation prize. 'Oh well,' you say. 'At least you tried.' The only reason that people think your way is to make themselves feel better. Deep down, it's clear that a failed attempt, no matter how noble it may be, doesn't help anyone."

"There's more to life than helping other people directly," Ninten said. "Sometimes, putting on a good attitude in the face of failure can inspire others."

"So that inspiration is a success," Ana said, "And leads to positive consequences. But with something like this," Ana gestured to the area around her. "Who the psych am I inspiring? Who the psych am I helping?"

"Ann, please…"

"Please what?" Ana asked. "Are you going to go all spiritual on me and ask me to return to the light? The reason that we despise the dark is that we're too scared to look into it."

"You know that I'm not a spiritual person. But can't you see how psyched up this is?"

"By 'psyched up' you mean uncomfortable," Ana said, "And uncomfortable ideas aren't always bad ones. You just don't want to look at the truth because it's ugly. That's fine; nobody's forcing you to. But don't you _psyching_ preach to me!"

"I respect your views," Ninten said carefully. "But I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine," Ana said, waving a hand in dismissal.

"Ann…"

"I said I'm fine!"

"Yelling doesn't make you seem that way."

Ana looked like she was about to snap before she stopped herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After her eyes snapped back open, she looked completely normal. She wore the same, conversational smile that she put on most of the day. No trace of anger remained in her eyes. She sat up straight, looking genuinely attentive. Ninten tried to spot a difference between this and the regular, actually calm Ana and found none.

He couldn't quite describe how terrifying that was.

"Is this better, then?" she asked in her normal, sweet voice. "No it's not. It's a thousand times worse, isn't it?"

Ninten nodded numbly.

"I thought so."

Ana turned back into her angry, defensive self, leaving no traces of serenity in her posture.

"I'm getting mad at you because you expect it," Ana said, glaring at Ninten. "So unless you want me to bury what I truly feel and put a pretty face on, please refrain from mentioning it again."

Ninten opened his mouth to speak, but Ana cut him off.

"You happen to be right. My way of thinking isn't nice, isn't pretty, and it sure as psych doesn't help my self-esteem."

"So why?" Ninten asked. "Why do you think that way?"

"Why don't you believe in god?" Ana asked. "If you believe he's real and he actually is, you go to heaven. Why don't you want to go to heaven, Ninten?"

"Because I think that's a lie," Ninten said. "Heaven sounds sweet, but the truth matters to me more. Don't tell Paula this, but I think god is a lie that we made up so that we wouldn't have to feel so alone…" Ninten trailed off, his eyes widening in realization.

"See, you understand," Ana said. "The truth matters more to me than my mental health does. Sure, my perspective of 'only the result matters' is depressing and promotes unhealthy activity, but I still accept it because I believe it to be true. That truth matters more to me than any reward that you can offer."

"Okay, then," Ninten said, swallowing slowly. "I guess I can't persuade you otherwise, huh?"

"Pretty much."

"So what about the knife in your arm? It's still there!"

"I was wondering when you would get to that." Ana sighed. "Listen, Ninten. Please don't tell anyone else that you saw me here like this. They think that I'm happy and healthy, and I would prefer for them to stay thinking that way."

"You're not?" Ninten asked.

"Not in the slightest. But it's not really their problem, nor is it their fault."

"But don't you want help?"

"I'm a big girl, Ninten," Ana said. "I need to handle this by myself."

"Ann, it's okay to rely on other people."

"Not about something like this."

Ana pulled the knife out of her arm and stuck it in a spot further up. Ninten let out a soft yelp while Ana didn't seem to even notice the pain.

"Besides," Ana said. "This is an improvement over bulimia or binge drinking."

"You…"

"Did those? Yeah. You don't have to look so surprised. More people do than you might think."

"And less people do than _you_ might think," Ninten said. "It's well-known that we tend to see our own circumstances and actions as normal. Most people don't stab themselves on purpose, Ana."

Ana whispered the incantation for Lifeup and the wound further down her arm closed, leaving only a scar behind.

"See?" Ana asked. "There's really no harm in it. I make sure to take extra iron since I lose a lot of it from bleeding, but other than that it doesn't affect my outside life."

"No harm?" Ninten said. "Are you serious? Self-harm indicates-"

"It _indicates_ problems, yes," Ana said. "And it's usually not a healthy coping mechanism since it wears the body out. But I'm a psion. I can stab myself all day, pull my sleeve back down, and nobody would notice."

"If there are underlying problems, we need to address those!"

"When did this become 'we'?" Ana asked. "I don't recall ever asking you for help."

"Ann, please," Ninten said. "You help me out all of the time. At least let me do this for you."

"I would if I thought I had real problems worth solving," Ana said, shrugging apologetically.

"Your problems aren't bad?" Ninten asked.

"They're not bad at all. That's the issue."

"Um… what?"

"My struggles aren't really legitimate," Ana said. "Normal upper-class rich girl things. But that just makes it a lot harder to stomach my stress and anger. I have a good life. Everything that I want is available to me. So why do I get upset all of the time?" Ana shook her head. "The absurdity of the situation just makes me more angry."

"Ann, _please_ let me help with this," Ninten said. "At least, just tell me where this came from. I can't believe that all of the time we spent together in Podunk was you just putting on a mask."

"Are you even listening? You wouldn't know where to start deciphering my overdramatic, angst-ridden brain." Ana stared Ninten in the face. "But because you're a stubborn ass, you won't give up. Am I right?"

"You know it!"

"You don't have to act so damn proud. 'Stubborn ass' isn't a compliment." Ana cleared her throat. "It all started shortly after my family moved away from Podunk. So… three or four years ago? I met up with Minerva, but this was before she became president. I just saw her as my mother's friend."

Ana paused; Ninten gestured for her to continue.

"She acted kind enough," Ana said. "And she seemed impressed with my high standards and knowledge. Since I descend from a long line of psions, she speculated that I would become one as well."

"Pretty good guess on her part."

"And not a difficult one. After my powers awakened from seeing the meteorite in Onett, Minerva snatched me up like a hawk. She trained me in psionics during her time as president, always with my parents' approval. She put on a smile around them, but when we were alone…" Ana shuddered. "She became an entirely different person."

"How so?" Ninten asked.

"She was hard. Cold. I could tell that she wanted to show tenderness, but her guilt motivated her to bury the kindness within her and treat me especially harshly. You see, she wanted to turn me into a psion whose reputation would stand the test of time. She saw some sort of potential within me, and she wanted to make me as strong as I could so that I would tap into that potential. From her point of view, going easy on me would be a disservice.

"So she pushed me. She made me fear her. I suspect that it was all she ever knew. She whispered stories of atrocities that she committed in her father's name and told me that she would kill my parents if I ever told them about it. She's still holding that threat above me right now, actually. But I'm not convinced that she's willing to kill her best friend…"

"Even though she destroyed Aphrodite?"

"Anyone out of her sight might as well be a pawn, but I think she would have second thoughts about killing my parents," Ana said. "That doesn't matter for my sob story, though. After she blew up a good chunk of Aphrodite and sent the whole planet into a nuclear winter, her paranoia pushed her to take her anger out on me. I tried to become the perfect psion that she wanted, but I cracked under the pressure. After she realized that I couldn't move forward, she swept me up like shattered glass and dumped me in the trash. She issued more threats. If I told my parents about this, they would die. It forced me to keep up my façade."

"So all of this…"

"Right," Ana said. "I only act sunny and cheerful because I _was_ that way for so long. I've gotten good at playing the part." Ana chuckled. "Lying about who I am is really all that I can do."

"Ann…"

"Again, that's not a plea for attention. I just find it funny. Everyone thinks that I'm so great at all of these different things, but the only skill that I have is deception." She paused. "Well, that and killing people."

"Listen, Ann," Ninten said. "I totally understand where you're coming from. I can see why it would be unbearable. Everyone asks questions if you don't act a certain way, so you bury your true feelings and give us what we want."

"Wah," Ana said in a mocking tone. "Poor me. Stuck hiding my feelings. When you think about it, we both have a lot to be grateful for. Compared to the miners on Vulcan, my problems are insignificant. Compared to the struggles of nearly any demographic at any time, my problems are insignificant. It's only because I'm a rich girl that this even bothers me."

"I don't think so," Ninten said. "Feeling like you have to take on the entire universe does things to you, rich or no. And to hide your true self like that for all this time…"

"Even if you were right," Ana said, "I don't think that you can help me with this."

"Don't you see?" Ninten asked. "This is exactly the sort of thing that I _can_ help with! If you can be your true self around me then you won't feel quite so bad hiding from the universe."

"You don't want to see my true self," Ana said with a dangerous smile. "Even what I am showing you now is… tame."

Ninten found himself unable to speak. If _this_ was tame, then what was wild? A memory flashed in Ninten's mind. A training session with Ana in Podunk… smiling and taunting. Ninten danced around Ana's attacks, prodding her to attack. A jeer here. A jeer there. A determined scowl. And then…

Ninten flinched, _feeling_ the sharp pain in his temple as Ana's play sword struck him in the head all those years ago.

"Yes," Ana said, and only then did Ninten realize that he was clutching his forehead. "When I hurt you, _that_ was the true me. So unless you want that part of me to become free," Ana's eyes tightened. "I suggest that you let the matter drop."

"Is there anything that I can do?" Ninten asked.

"Leave," Ana said. "Now. I'm feeling particularly angry at the world, and I don't want to smash your pretty face in."

"I'm not abandoning you," Ninten said. "Not when you need my help the most."

"Please," Ana said with a snort. "Just forget that this ever happened. By tomorrow, I'll smile and laugh again. Please."

By the end, her voice grew desperate, pleading. Ana shrunk back, looking more like a chastised child than a caged animal.

"How long are you going to run from this?" Ninten asked. "If I leave you today, what will you be like in a month? A year?"

"I'll run away from my true nature for as long as I have to," Ana said, scooting backwards. "And I'll throw you back if you try to let yourself into my heart. You should leave and save both of us the trouble."

"Ninten!" came Paula's voice from behind him. "I saw some bodies and I decided to investigate…"

Paula gasped.

"Ana! Is that you?"

"Of course it is," Ana said, putting on a smile.

For once, Ninten could spot the unease that lay beneath Ana's expression. After a second, she dropped the smile.

"Ah, psych it," she said. "Who am I fooling? Great. As if Ninten stumbling on me in this state wasn't enough."

"Are you… okay?" Paula asked.

"I want to say yes, but neither of you would be fooled," Ana said. "It's not your fault and it's not your problem. I just need some time to myself."

"No, Ana!" Paula said. "Please, listen to me! Running away will only make things worse!"

"Perhaps," Ana said. "But it also makes life bearable. I'm sorry that both of you had to see me like this. I really wanted to be a big sister to all of you. Maybe as time passes we can forget that this ever happened."

"What are you going to do?" Paula asked. "You can't keep running forever!"

"You two are exactly the same, do you know that?" Ana said, smiling sweetly. "I'll run for as long as I can. Then we'll see."

"But-"

"Paula. Ninten. Please leave. This is the last time that I'll ask."

"I don't know if we can get any more out of her," Ninten said. "Maybe we can talk about this later."

"We can't," Paula said. "I know how she feels. Talking about this is the last thing that she'll want to do. Talking only brings back memories… painful memories. We have to solve this now!"

Ana clenched her fists. Blood from her knife wound trickled down her arm and dripped off of her knuckles.

"I'm sorry," Ana said, gritting her teeth, "But I won't give you that option. Teleport!"

Ninten barely managed to cry out before the world faded around him.

* * *

"Psych it!" Ninten swore as the world came into existence around him. "Out of all of us, I never would have thought that Ann needed our help the most."

"She's smart enough to convince herself of anything if she tries hard enough," Paula said. "Too smart for her own good. I don't know if we can reach her."

"Maybe we can get Ness to help…" Ninten looked around at the fields of wheat and corn. "I don't think that this is Onett. Where did Ana teleport us to?"

"Look in the sky," Paula said. "The sun was close to setting back in Onett, but it looks like only a few hours past midday here."

"She must have teleported us far away," Ninten said, shielding his eyes as he glanced up at the sun. "And by the way that time seemed to rewind, I think we're in America."

"You and Ana are from this place, right?" Paula asked. "It doesn't look much different from rural Eagleland. The fields, the hills, the trees… even the temperature feels about the same."

"Which means it feels way too cold here," Ninten muttered. "American winters can be pretty harsh, depending on how north you go."

"Well, we should probably head over to that town, right?" Paula asked, pointing to an arrangement of buildings in the distance.

Ninten narrowed his eyes. He recognized something about those buildings. After a second, it clicked in his mind.

 _Of course Ann would send us here,_ he thought.

"Yeah, let's go," Ninten said. "I've been wanting to show you my home town for a while now."

* * *

"Welcome to Podunk," Ninten said.

Paula looked around at the wooden houses and laughed.

"Well, the name fits," she said. "There's nothing here and I can't see anything else nearby." She stopped in front of a department store. "Well, this is a surprise."

"Yes, my little town is doing its best to commercialize," Ninten said. "We were so proud when we got our own department store. It was the biggest building I'd ever seen in my life."

Instead of laughing or teasing like Ninten expected, Paula cocked her head.

"Yeah, I guess this would seem pretty magnificent to someone who had lived here their whole life. I remember dying to go to Fourside to see the _big_ buildings when I was a kid." She smiled. "I guess it's all relative."

They walked for minutes without speaking.

"So how does it feel, coming back to your home town?" Paula asked, breaking the silence.

"Awkward," Ninten said. "Nervous. I never really felt comfortable at home, so it's not exactly relieving to be back."

"I'm glad it's not just me who feels that way," Paula said, wrapping her arm around Ninten's shoulder. "For how different we are, we have a lot in common."

"Makes me wonder if Ana orchestrated all of this," Ninten said. Looking at Paula's confused expression, "She was the one who pulled strings and pushed us together. It makes me think that there's more to her than a mask over an angst-ridden teenager."

"I think she just feels a lot of guilt," Paula said. "I'm guessing that she even considered setting us up together selfish on her part because she wished to prove her competence rather than acting out of pure altruism."

 _Which explains her 'only the consequences matter' belief,_ Ninten thought. _She's ashamed of her thoughts, so she creates a moral system where they're irrelevant._

Ninten and Paula continued chatting as they walked through town. They decided to move onto 'safe' subjects, such as the state of her relationship. Ninten skirted around the topic, not wanting to say anything that would offend Paula, but she cut straight to the heart of the matter.

Ninten wasn't sure if he quite heard her right when she said that she took a lot of inspiration from his beliefs. She didn't want to cling on him and said that he was perfectly fine to do what he wanted even if it meant leaving her for meaningful periods of time. It amazed Ninten how much she worried about herself and how little she cared about his shortcomings. She even asked him if it was okay for her to dress casually when they met despite the fact that Ninten usually wore a shirt and trousers.

They headed north of Podunk, and Ninten almost forgot about his conversation with Ana. Almost. Ana's false smiles must have been somewhat of a vicious circle. The more that she supported others, the more that they _expected_ her to support them. All the while, she was suffocating inside.

A girl with pigtails walked up and interrupted Ninten's thoughts. As soon as they saw each other, Ninten froze.

"Hm?" Paula asked. "Do you two know each other?"

"Do you see the size of this village, m'lady?" the girl asked, her voice distant. "Everyone knows each other."

"Pippi," Ninten said. "Long time no see."

"That's all you say?" Pippi asked. "At this point, I'm not even surprised." She turned to Paula. "Is this your new girlfriend? She looks a lot like the other one. You never set your sights low, do you?"

Paula raised an eyebrow, looking at Ninten.

"Listen, Pippi," Ninten said. "Ana and I never courted. I even asked her and she rejected me. It's nice to see you, for whatever that's worth."

"Course it is," Pippi said with a snort. "But not nice enough, hmm?"

 _"It sounds like you broke her heart,"_ Paula said telepathically.

 _"I did,"_ Ninten said. _"She thought it was because I wanted to court a noblewoman, but I just can't stand her pettiness."_

 _"Ah. So that explains the hostility."_

"Excuse me, Miss Pippi," Paula said. "I should introduce myself."

"Don't worry about it, m'lady." Pippi's nose wrinkled. "You probably don't even care, just like the other one who passed by today."

"That's not true!" Paula said. "I want to meet people who are part of Ninten's life."

"Wait," Ninten said. "Who else passed by?"

"You mean that you don't know her?" Pippi asked. "Middle-aged woman. Black hair and eyes. Looks a lot like you, actually."

Ninten struggled not to let his alarm show. Paula shot him a worried glance.

"We just came into town," Ninten said, measuring each word out. "So we don't know who else passed by. What else was this woman like?"

"So you _do_ know her," Pippi said. "She approached me and asked where your house was. She acted polite enough, but I could tell that she didn't give a psych about me. Excuse my language, m'lady."

"I don't suppose that you would call me Paula?"

"If you insist, Paula. Now this woman, she held herself like a noble. She made me feel common without really trying to, if you know what I mean."

Ninten _did_ know what she meant. Some ex-nobles made it abundantly clear that they were superior and you were inferior. It wasn't even insulting; to them, it was a simple fact of life.

Ninten knew someone who acted exactly like that.

"And she went to my house?" Ninten asked.

"Yeah," Pippi said. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"I honestly don't know. Thanks for the information, Pippi."

Ninten turned to leave.

"Of course," Pippi said. Muttering under her breath, "Leaving for yet _another_ noblewoman."

Ninten pretended not to hear her as he walked off to his house.

"Wait up," Paula said. "You look like you're on the verge of panic."

"Sorry," Ninten said, slowing his pace. "And sorry for just taking off like that."

"I assume that you have a valid concern about this woman visiting your house?"

"Unfortunately, yeah," Ninten said. "I don't know why she's here, but I can't imagine that it's good."

"You know for certain who she is?"

"As certain as I can be," Ninten said. "Make sure that you have your psionics ready, all right? She might attack us on sight. Well, she might try to attack _me,_ and you'll be in the line of fire. Although I wouldn't really blame her, all things considered."

Paula increased her speed, walking up and grabbing onto Ninten's arm.

"What did you _do_ to her?" she asked.

"I killed her father," Ninten answered.


	29. Chapter 24: Tanetane Mushrooms

**Hello, everyone! Here I am on this Friday with an update that's a little longer than usual. I wanted to add in a part at the end that sets up the rest of the story, but you guys have probably figured out that this part of Ceres isn't just going to be happy-go-lucky exploring and sightseeing. Something** ** _always_** **goes wrong. :D**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Yep, I was waiting to explain her issues for a long time and the opportunity finally came up. It's true; Ana's quite a perfectionist and always expects more out of herself. That in itself isn't a bad thing (I'm not a perfectionist, but I pretty much always view my actions on a scale from pitiful to mediocre and that's worked out fine for me), but the way that she beats herself up is a problem. It's funny that you ask, because Teddy's in this chapter. :) I don't think he'll be in any others, though. See you!

 **DarkFoxKit:** Yeah, I hinted that she had some pretty serious issues, but I left a lot of the details blank until now. Her backstory is one of the few things that wasn't ever really adjusted from my original perception of it when planning out this story. And nah, this chapter's another Ninten PoV. It's not like anyone else is really doing anything. So yeah, he'll face Morgan in this chapter. :) And hey, it was more than ten chapters past when I asked for you to reveal the Claus = Masked Man thing to your characters. Besides, it's a little different because that lack of communication between Lucas and Claus in Rebuild in Reborn limited character interaction in growth, while Paula's fear of Ness is more of a side detail. I'll try to keep the characters occupied to the level where Paula's secrets don't feel like they're slowing the story down. :)

 **A Fan:** Web browser crash... ouch. We've all been there. :( Nah, Ana's not insane because she's not delusional and doesn't experience hallucinations. I mean, all of her arguments make a lot of sense. It's not just that she uses language in fancy ways; she has some pretty legit arguments. There are quite a lot of people who do believe in the "only the consequences matter, not the intent/effort." An essay by one of those people that I read in school got me so annoyed that I attributed his views to Morgan and Ana here. But yeah, not super healthy behavior. Yeah, the "noblewoman" Pippi's referring to is Ana. Ninten and Ana were really close as kids so Pippi was a little resentful of that, imagining elitist romance stuff when none was really happening. It's Morgan at Ninten's house. Remember when Ninten killed his great-uncle back at the end of the first fic? Yeah, Morgan is his daughter. Diana's the ex-cultist psion archer person who now works for good. Does that ring any bells? And yeah, thanks for reviewing! :)

 **crabbyTomato:** Hey, don't stress it. It actually reminded me that I have to get this chapter out soon because I'm having company over. Yeah, I was looking back on Ninten's conversation with Ana and was like "Okay... that's 3k words of standing in one place and talking." That would _never_ fly in an actual young adult book haha. Especially one about war/politics. Yeah, Ana's not setting herself up for a great future, and even she knows it. It can be difficult to give my characters a lot of problems like that since I always give them way more perspective than most people would have in their situation... although I still manage to do it for like every character. Speaking of which... Ninten. Yeah, bulimia is really awful... we learned about it in health class because it's so common now. Since there's a lot less privacy in the modern world, it's harder to feel secure, leading to... unhealthy opinions of one's self and consequent actions.

Heh, I've never lived in a small town so I wouldn't know from experience, but I guessed that it would be a safe bet for an installment of a department store to be a big news. :) So many fantasy novels start off with the protag in a small town that I have somewhat of an idea how things work. Especially in a less modern society like this one. I had no idea about the Pippi thing. Yep, you'll see what Morgan's goal is in Podunk, and you might want to keep track of it. I wouldn't be surprised if her objective in Podunk comes into play later... ;) Oh yeah, it was just a coincidence. Ana has no way of tracking Morgan's movements. And again, I don't mind late reviews. :)

 **Phoesong:** Yes, I got it just in time... and I'm _not_ going to use that guest name when addressing you in response. I know, right? Choking to death on paint is _not_ the way I want to go. I'd imagine that it would be _slightly_ better than molten gold, but I wouldn't be fond of either. O.O I think most people agree with you and Ninten. Actually her opinion (and Morgan's) comes from an essay I read from someone who said that only the consequences of an action matter. Her problems are going to be discussed later, but not super deeply. That conversation was already way too long haha. Although it's not like I'm done writing everything, so we'll see how it goes. Yeah, Ana does act quite differently around Ness and I think that in itself is pretty normal. We alter our behavior to match our situation. If I were as messed up as Ana, I would feel bad about showing it to someone like Ness. Uh... uh... not _everyone_ is messed up. Like... er... Poo, maybe? Jeff, sorta? But yeah, most of my characters have serious internal struggles, and often the antagonists do more than the protags (I actually feel really bad for Minerva in this fic). Yeah, thanks for reviewing and see you later! :) I'll review your chapter when I can.

* * *

 _I do not know what purpose these nightmares of mine serve._

 _It is rare for me to sleep through the night uninterrupted. It amazes me how powerless I am when faced with my own mind. With psionics, I can slay my foes, summon armies to enact my will, and manipulate those around me to act as I desire. Yet nothing that I can do keeps the nightmares away._

 _They come in different forms. Morgan smiling as she rips my heart out of my chest. Diana shaking her head sadly as she skewers me with an arrow. Megan storming into my room and bringing the whole psyching building down after figuring out what I have done._

 _But the one that I fear the most is of Aphrodite. An army of skeletons standing on a sea of snow, looking at me as the snow engulfs me like quicksand. Myself in an Aphroditian village, running and screaming as everything that I know and love disappears in an instant._

 _In these dreams, I can sense another entity from outside. I can see it out of the corner of my eye, but it fades when I try to get a look at it. Still, I know its game._

 _It watches._

 _It waits._

* * *

Ninten raised his hand to knock on his door. At the last second, he hesitated.

"Nervous?" Paula asked.

Ninten nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Wow, not even a long-winded response," Paula said. "Now I know that you're _really_ serious. Who is this woman, anyway? And why did you kill her father?"

Ninten took a minute to give Paula a rushed recap of his relationship with Morgan.

"Hmm," Paula said. "I can see why she hates you, then. But I also don't blame for what happened." She kissed his cheek and blushed. "I know that you'll make the right choices."

"Just like I did when I killed Boras?" Ninten asked. "No, it's good that I am nervous. A little hesitation when fighting him would have saved Morgan a lot of pain." He smiled at Paula. "But thanks."

Ninten knocked on the door, shuffling his feet as the seconds passed by. Who would meet him at the door? Would his family even want to see him again? If only he could speed up time and resolve the suspense.

After what felt like hours, the door opened to reveal Ninten's sister Mimmie. Upon seeing the surprised smile on her face, Ninten couldn't help but smile back.

"Ninten!" she exclaimed. "I thought that it was about time for you to come home. And is that your girlfriend?" Mimmie giggled.

"Actually, yeah," Ninten said. Catching the flash of surprise in Mimmie's eyes, "Guess I'm a romantic after all, huh?"

Ninten introduced Mimmie and Paula to each other. Unlike Pippi, Mimmie bore no ill will against Paula's ladylike appearance.

"Mimmie's twin is named Minnie," Ninten explained to Paula. "Don't ask me why my parents made their names so easy to mix up. They're fraternal, so it's not too hard to tell them apart, but if that's not enough you can always make out Minnie because she looks like she has a stick up her ass."

"Ninten!" Mimmie said, narrowing her eyes.

"You know it's true as much as I do, Mims. Thank you for being so much less unbearable than your twin sister."

"Right, that's the compliment I always wanted," Mimmie said, rolling her eyes. "Not unbearable. How did you ever get a girlfriend?"

"With difficulty," Paula said, covering up a smile with her hand.

"Everyone _always_ has to make fun of me," Ninten said. "Is the world going to stop spinning if you don't point out each one of my weaknesses that you can find?"

"Sorry, bro," Mimmie said. "It's just so entertaining. You try to act like a tough guy, but we can all tell that you're a softie."

"Hmph," Ninten said. "Did a woman who looks like an older version of Minnie visit our house?"

Mimmie's face darkened.

"She's still talking with dad in your room," Mimmie said. "Do you know her?"

"More than I'd like to," Ninten said. "Paula, are you okay if we interrupt their little party?"

"Didn't you say that she might attack you on sight?" Paula asked.

"Um… she _probably_ won't if there are other people around."

"That's not very comforting, bro," Mimmie said.

"I know," Ninten said. "But please. Whatever Morgan's doing, I can promise you that we won't like it and that we'll want to hear about it."

"All right," Paula said. "But don't blame me if she burns your house down."

"Let's… try to avoid that," Mimmie said. "Meaning that you should keep your tongue civil, Ninten. Not everyone recognizes how sweet you are on the inside."

"Yeah, yeah," Ninten said. "Let's go. I don't want to miss her."

Ninten walked into his house and spotted his mother washing the dishes and humming to herself. The aggressive way that she scrubbed the plates contrasted with her lighthearted tune.

"Oh, Ninten!" his mother said. "I didn't know that Mimmie was talking to _you._ " Her face turned stern. "Honestly, boy. Spending four months on Ceres and not even telling us when you'll come back? You shouldn't worry your mother like that."

"I couldn't really contact you," Ninten muttered. "It's not like there are any _telecoms_ here."

"Don't speak that way to your mother," Ninten's mom said, setting a plate down so that she could wag a finger at him. "If _I_ spoke that way to _my_ mother…"

"Yes, yes," Ninten interrupted. "She would spank you. I'm sorry, but I don't have a lot of patience today. There's a woman meeting upstairs with dad?"

Ninten's mom paused, putting her hands on her hips and tilting her head slightly to indicate disapproval. Ninten struggled not to roll his eyes.

"I don't see you for four months, and you're already short with me? What did they teach you on Ceres?"

"How to be independent," Ninten said, walking past his mother. "How not to let people walk all over me."

Ninten leapt up the stairs to the second floor of his house two at a time, trying to ignore his mother's indignant gasp. After he and Paula went through, he slammed the door to the second floor shut. Ninten released his breath and shook his head.

"Well," Paula said. "You weren't kidding when you said that you hated your parents."

"You probably think that I was unreasonable with her, huh?" Ninten asked.

"I'm not one to judge," Paula said. "Besides, I know how it feels. It's not that she's annoying this one time; it's that you never catch a break from her attitude. You've probably trained yourself to fight back without even knowing it. Oh, is that your other sister?"

Minnie walked out of her room, clinging onto a doll. When she looked at Ninten, her back straightened and she tilted her nose up slightly. A slight yet noticeable message that she considered herself above her brother.

"Hey, Minnie," Ninten said. "Are you sure that doll isn't going to attack you again?"

Minnie stiffened, glaring at Ninten.

"That was _real_ ," she said. "It almost killed me."

"A doll?" Paula asked.

"Starmen attacked our village and threw a bunch of stuff around with psychokinesis a few years ago," Ninten explained. "It made the doll appear possessed. It wasn't in any condition to _kill_ someone, mind you."

"You weren't there," Minnie said. "You wouldn't know."

"Ninten," Paula said. "Maybe you could stop antagonizing your sister so we could see Morgan? Just a thought."

"Fine," Ninten said. "And hello, Minnie. It's been a while since we've seen each other."

"I'm telling mom that you made fun of me again."

"Because _that's_ a mature way to deal with the situation," Paula said. "Besides, it doesn't seem like you're friendly to your brother, either."

Psych. Was Paula actually sticking up for him?

"And who are _you?_ " Minnie asked, wrinkling her nose.

"The name's Paula." She flashed a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Nice to meet you. You ready to go to your room, Ninten?"

"Um, yeah. Sure."

 _Man,_ Ninten thought. _Paula plays the ice queen twice as well as Minnie._

Minnie glared at Ninten and went back into her room, slamming the door shut.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," Ninten said.

"You defended me in front of my parents," Paula said. "The least I could do was face your little sister."

Ninten smiled. He imagined Paula and Minnie of them actually facing off, and he enjoyed the thought more than was probably healthy.

Ninten walked up to the door to his room, rapping on it lightly.

"No hesitation there," Paula noted.

"Trust me," Ninten said. "I hesitated plenty. In my mind." He tapped on his head.

The door swung open, revealing Morgan Lorune. A cloak covered most of her body, but she had the hood down so that the world could see the falsely sweet smile directed at Ninten.

"…Come in," Morgan said, nearly choking on the words.

Ninten moved into his room, leaving his guard up. In a second, he could summon a rapier and stick it through Morgan's smiling face. Paula followed after him, taking a moment to look at Ninten's father. Or, more accurately, to take a look at the cigar in his father's mouth. As soon as Paula entered the room, the door flew shut without anyone touching it.

"Ninten," his father said, taking the cigar out of his mouth to chuckle. "And you even brought a girl! Too bad you couldn't hook up with Tigress, eh?"

 _"Tigress?"_ Paula asked.

 _"Ana. To my dad, the thought of a girl as fierce as Ana was so adorable that he had to make fun of her with that name."_

 _"Ew."_

"Morgan," Ninten's father said. "You knew that this would happen?"

"If I did, I wouldn't have come," Morgan said. "The sight of your son makes me want to puke."

 _Better than making her want to murder someone, I guess,_ Ninten thought.

"But Ninten," Morgan said in a disturbingly motherlike tone. "I don't think either of us have met your lady friend. Care to introduce us?"

"This is Paula," Ninten said. "She comes from Eagleland. Paula, this is my dad and his cousin Morgan."

"Nice to meet you," Paula said.

 _"They're really quite the characters, aren't they?"_ she asked telepathically. _"Is your whole family this dysfunctional?"_

"I can hear that, dear," Morgan said.

Paula blushed, cupping her hands over her mouth by reflex.

"Hmm?" Ninten's dad asked. "Hear what?"

"Nothing," Morgan said. "It's _so_ nice to meet you, Paula. Especially considering how… _polite_ you were in your introduction."

Paula's face reddened further.

"Heh, never knew that Ninten would be attracted to someone so meek," his dad said. "Normally, Ninten likes girls who can kick his ass. Not that it's hard to find someone who can do that, mind you. The name's Theodore, but call me Teddy. Nice to meet'cha."

He extended his hand.

"You Eagleish shake hands, right? Even with people who you secretly want to kill?"

"Dad!" Ninten said.

"What?" Teddy asked. "It's true. Always so polite, those Eagleish."

Paula hesitantly reached out and shook Teddy's hand. Ninten's dad flashed a toothy grin.

"Well, it looks like the _lady_ is quite offended," he said. "Perhaps we should wrap this up, Morgan."

"Indeed. I wanted to get the information out of you the easy way, but…"

"But what?" Teddy asked. "You're going to torture me?"

"Of course not. Who do you think I am, Minerva Carpainter? I have _morals,_ Theodore. Besides, I would hate to inflict harm on my _dear_ cousin who suffered _so much_ during his time living on the streets of Ellay."

Ninten relished in his father's discomfort upon hearing the last sentence. Maybe Morgan _was_ good for something after all.

"What information are you looking for?" Ninten asked.

"A certain type of Tanetane mushrooms that function as a powerful poison," Teddy said. "For some reason, she thinks that I have some stored away. My days of robbing and assassinating are over."

"You let it slip years ago," Morgan said. "And the universe is glad that you did. My brother Pan gathered some of those mushrooms on Aphrodite and I killed Apollo Carpainter with them. Today, I come with an equally noble purpose."

"Don't trust her, dad," Ninten said. "She'd put an emperor back in charge if she could."

"You don't have to warn me about trust," Teddy said, taking a puff of his cigar. "I'm the most paranoid person in the entire village."

 _That's… not really something to be proud of,_ Ninten thought.

"It doesn't matter whether he trusts me or not," Morgan said. "I already figured out where they are."

"What?" Teddy asked, a knife appearing in his hand. "You're lying."

"Ah," Morgan said. "Telepathy is such a useful tool. I wanted you to tell me voluntarily, but I suspected that you would be difficult."

"Cheater," Teddy spat.

"Indeed. But who are you to judge? We both know that you have to cheat to get ahead in life. I'll head right over to that inconspicuous clearing right next to the zoo where those mushrooms are. Have a nice day, Theodore."

Teddy lunged at Morgan.

"Teleport," she said. As she disappeared from sight, "Not even close, cousin."

"Poison," Teddy said, shaking his head. "A woman's weapon indeed. Only someone so weak would resort to such an honorless tool."

Paula raised an eyebrow. Teddy didn't seem to notice.

"We're going to stop her," Teddy said.

"Neither of us can teleport, dad," Ninten said. "By the time that we get there, she'll be gone."

"I didn't ask you!" Teddy stepped forward and yanked Ninten off the ground by his collar. "We. Are. Going. To. Stop. Her. Do you _psyching_ understand?"

Ninten resisted the urge to squirm. How could his father _still_ hoist him up so easily? Ninten looked into his Teddy's eyes and what he saw terrified him. Before he could submit to his father's rule, Ninten felt the area around the front of his collar grow cold. Teddy yelped in pain and dropped Ninten, looking in horror at a chunk of ice attached to the back of his hand. He gave the wall a backhanded slap, shattering the ice with a _thud._ Ninten wouldn't have expected anything different than brute force from his father.

"What I _understand_ ," Paula said. "Is that we are both psions and you are not. Therefore, we outrank you and hold power over you. Pray that it is not your entire arm that I decide to freeze next."

Teddy looked at Paula and sneered, ready to pounce. After a second, he paused. Then he roared his head back and laughed.

"Not bad!" he said. "Not bad at all. Have it your way, Miss Psion. I'll go after my cousin, and you two can choose if you want to tag along."

"I like the sound of that," Paula said. "Well, Ninten? Do you want to help chase down Morgan?"

"I guess so," Ninten said. "It's not like I really have anything better to do."

"That's my boy!" Teddy clapped Ninten on the back harder than Ninten would have liked. "I was wrong about your girl. She can kick your ass ten times over."

Ninten looked over to see Paula's reaction. Ana would have smiled proudly, he knew. To her, strength was a compliment. Power was a compliment.

Perhaps that was why he was so grateful to see Paula roll her eyes at Teddy's statement.

* * *

Ninten, Paula, and Teddy made their way over to the zoo north of Podunk. During that time, Teddy "explained" Ninten's behavior to Paula in some of the most infuriating ways possible.

"You see," Teddy told Paula. "Ninten always liked girls who could beat him up and leave him stranded in a ditch."

"Yes, I believe you've said so before," Paula said. "Twice."

"Well, doesn't it make you wonder why?"

"Honestly, not really."

"Right, because you take it for granted that your psionics make you so attractive. The truth is, Ninten's helpless. Insecure. Back as a young boy, he had a huge crush on that one girl… What was her name, Ninten?"

"Ana," Ninten said.

"Right, Ana!" Teddy said, snapping in recognition. "Anyways, this girl liked to show off her strength by beating the living shit out of all the boys."

"Only when we challenged her," Ninten said.

"Ah, that's right." Teddy shook his head and chuckled. "She was one girl, that one. Thought that swinging an axe around would make people forget about her breasts."

"Actually," Paula said, rising up in defense. "I've met Ana before. We're good friends."

"Ah, is that so?" Teddy asked. "It's a small universe, isn't it? Anyways, Ninten was crazy for this girl. Wanted to spend every moment outside of school with her."

"We were _friends,_ dad," Ninten said. "And school with you took ten hours a day. I only had like two or three left to spend on my own."

"Friends," Teddy said with a snort. "Of course. But back to my point, Ninten thought that this girl would protect him. And then she just up and left him. Isn't that the best?" Teddy barked a laugh.

"Hilarious," Paula said, her voice cold and her eyes colder.

"And then after he was weak enough to get captured by his hobbling _grandfather…_ "

"Dad!" Ninten said. "I told you not to talk about that!"

"If Ninten doesn't want to talk about it, you should stop," Paula told Teddy. "Perhaps for your own good."

"See, there it is?" Teddy asked. "My boy is cowering behind your dress and expecting you to do everything for him."

"Actually," Paula said. "Ninten pulled me through some rough times. He defended me, made me feel better, and ultimately loved me. I'd still be like his sister Minnie if he didn't give me strength."

"Huh," Teddy said. "No kidding?"

"I'm dead serious," Paula said. "And we're almost at the zoo, so you may want to keep your mouth shut. Unless you _want_ to let Morgan know where we are?"

"Of course not," Teddy said. "From here, I won't say another word."

Ninten flashed an appreciative smile at Paula. He didn't want to hide behind Paula like Teddy made fun of him for, but his father had conditioned Ninten early on to fear his wrath. And, well, old habits died hard.

Teddy led Ninten and Paula into a clearing right next to the zoo. To Ninten's surprise, Morgan was still there, picking mushrooms as the birds sang overhead. To his greater surprise, a half-dozen starmen stood by her flanks.

"Are those…?" Paula asked.

"Starmen, yeah," Ninten whispered. "If only I had Dynaldas, this would be easy."

Teddy whirled on Ninten, grabbing him by the shoulders.

"You _lost_ Dynaldas?" Teddy asked. "What the psych were you thinking?

"Morgan stole it from me," Ninten said, shaking off his father's grip. "She probably has it right now."

"Actually," Morgan said, looking up from her mushroom patch. "Pan has it right now. I have no use for that little toy knife of yours." She smiled. "Still, it makes taking out these starmen considerably harder, no? Without Empress Mary's soul to infiltrate their systems and send them into a panic, I think you'll find these starmen quite resilient."

"Are you even speaking Eagleish?" Paula asked. "None of what you're saying makes sense."

"Oh, it makes sense. Just not to you. Yes, starmen, that is Emperor George's heir." She pointed at Ninten. "Capture him if you wish. It matters not to me. Teleport!"

"Emperor George's heir?" Paula asked. "Who-"

Ninten leapt out of the way as the starmen fired laser beams at him, summoning a rapier and pointing it at them.

"If we run, they'll chase us," Ninten said. "You ready to fight?"

"Sure as psych," Teddy said, whipping out a knife.

"Careful!" Paula shouted at Teddy. "You don't have a psionic aura to protect you like we do."

"I don't have a psionic aura, so the brutes hardly notice that I'm here," Teddy said. "Now, let's kick some starman ass!"

True to Teddy's word, the starmen focused on Ninten and Paula. Well, pretty much all on Ninten. Teddy ran up and stabbed a starman in the back several times before it noticed his existence. The starman shot a single beam before collapsing to the ground, grazing Teddy's arm.

The remaining five starmen fired at Ninten. He liked to think that he was proficient in predicting and dodging starmen lasers, but Ninten had never had to keep track of _five_ before. And without Dynaldas, he couldn't even rush in and take them out reliably. Still, he lunged forward, stabbing a starman multiple times with his rapier in an attempt to break through the alien's psionic aura. The starman put up a shield using psionics, which took some of the sting out of Ninten's attack. After only a few attacks, Ninten retreated and used Lifeup to keep himself healthy.

The battle continued along the same lines: Ninten darting in and out of combat, using psychic energy to heal himself when his body threatened to collapse. During this time, Paula unleashed a number of psychokinetic powers, from summoning a hailstorm overhead to lacing the ground beneath the starmen's feet with fire. Ninten couldn't tell for sure, but he suspected that Paula was doing more damage to the starmen than Ninten and Teddy combined. Either way, the starmen fell one by one.

Right after Ninten rammed his sword through the fifth starman, finishing it off, he realized numbly that he didn't have any psychic power left. On top of that, his bruised psionic aura wouldn't even stop another beam from the final starman. Ninten yelped as his fears came true and the remaining starman fired a laser at him. Ninten tried to jump away, but the beam caught him straight in the chest. He struggled to stay on his feet, his psionic stall giving him a few more seconds before he would collapse.

Ninten's psionic senses alerted him to a shift in the starman's position; it had teleported right behind him. One of the starman's armlike tentacles wrapped around Ninten's right wrist, leaving him unable to use his sword.

 _"It is time for you to meet Master Giygas,"_ the starman said telepathically.

 _No!_ Ninten thought, struggling to free his sword hand. _He's going to teleport me away!_

Ninten heard a series of what he assumed were telepathic cries of pain from the starman. The robot-like alien collapsed to the ground, and only then could Ninten see the dozen stab wounds that lined its back. Teddy stood over the starman's corpse, shaking his head in disappointment.

"You've never been strong enough, son," Teddy said. "Not for them."

Ninten fell unconscious.

* * *

Ninten jolted awake in his bed. He breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the familiar walls around him.

"Hey, Ninten," Paula said, her voice reverting back to timid. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah," Ninten said. "Nothing really hurts."

"You were out for a whole day," Paula said. "I'm sorry that I didn't make it over in time to heal you."

"Don't worry about that. It's my fault for being weak."

"Do you really believe that?" Paula asked. "You did an amazing job. Weaving between beams, drawing their attention so that your father and I could strike without having to worry about defense… I don't think anyone could have asked for more."

Ninten smiled. Why did her approval mean so much to him?

"But Emperor George's great-grandson, huh?" Paula asked. "And my parents called you a commoner. Were you planning on telling me anytime soon?"

"Honestly?" Ninten asked. "No. How would you have treated me at first if you knew the truth?"

"Awestruck, maybe," Paula said, frowning in concentration. "Probably even more shy than normal."

"Right. I didn't want you to see me for my title. I wanted you to see me for _me._ Besides, it shouldn't matter who my great-grandfather is. I'm not personally responsible for anything that he did."

"I suppose that's true." Paula smiled. "It just goes against everything I've ever learned. I think that it's still nice to honor your heritage, so long as you don't let it restrict you."

Ninten coughed. He didn't really agree, but he also didn't care enough to press the point.

"I heard from your father about how the starmen always target you in particular," Paula said, "Because they want to get their slimy tentacles on the 'rightful emperor'. I'm sorry that you went through that."

"It doesn't even bother me at this point," Ninten said. "This is going to sound stupid, but the worst part of it was my dad. How he always pushed me to become stronger so that I could fight them. And when I failed, how he looked at me like a piece of garbage on the streets of Ellay."

"You failed?" Paula asked. "I don't want to be nosy, but how so?"

"I wasn't supposed to become a psion," Ninten said, balling his hands into fists. "Because a non-psion can't rule anything, which would make me useless to the empirists. My current powers are why I'm the 'rightful ruler' instead of my dad. We agreed that I should never go to the awakening meteorite in Onett."

Ninten paused, taking deep breaths.

"And then what?" Paula asked, resting a hand on Ninten's arm.

"Then my granfather Coran showed up."

Paula's eyes widened slightly.

"You mean the leader of the empirists?" she said.

"Well, yeah. Before Morgan killed him."

"Wait, _Morgan_ killed the one of the most feared men in the universe? Like, Morgan as in the same person that nearly killed _you_ yesterday?"

"Yeah," Ninten said with a shrug. "It's a long story,"

"I suppose Coran _would_ be your grandfather, since he was Emperor George's son," Paula said. "Was he as cruel as all of the rumors made him out to be?"

"Yeah." Ninten drew a shaky breath. "Unlike his brother Boras, Coran was bitter down to the bone. He witnessed the fall of the empire as a child, and he never forgave anyone with it. When I turned 13, the normal awakening age, he…" Ninten closed his eyes.

"You don't have to keep going if it's too painful," Paula said.

Ninten opened his eyes, staring intently at his bedsheets.

"No," he said. "You deserve to know why I'm broken. But please, don't tell anyone else about this, all right? I'm trusting you."

"I… of course," Paula said, blushing furiously. "I'm just flattered that you trust me so much already."

"After how you stood up for me? After how much you've grown? I can't find a reason _not_ to trust you."

"Oh, I'm still shy and timid," Paula said. "It's just that when I saw your father hurting you with his words… Well, seeing you in pain was so much more powerful than my shyness."

"Still, I can't thank you enough for that," Ninten said. "And nobody else knows the full details of what I'm about to tell you. Not my dad, not Ann, not Mimmie. Nobody." Ninten took a deep breath. "When Coran came to Podunk, he asked me nicely to go with him to the awakening meteorite in Onett. When I said no, he threatened me. When I tried to run away, he stuffed me into a sac and suffocated me. I spent minutes trying to break free while my lungs screamed at me louder than any person ever could. But of course, it didn't do any good. After screaming, flailing, and bawling for an eternity, I fell unconscious."

"Oh my god," Paula said. "Your own _grandfather_ did this to you?"

"And just out of the blue. Crazy, right? When I woke up in Onett, Coran pinned me to the ground by my throat and told me that if I were to do anything funny, I would go back in the sac. Being a terrified 13 year-old, I didn't have an ounce of resistance left in me. I went to the awakening meteorite, and you know what happened next. After I realized that I could use psionics, I started crying. I knew that after then, the empirists would never leave me alone. The thought of a lifetime spent running from psychopaths and starmen terrified me. It still does, actually."

"I'm so sorry," Paula said. "I had no idea."

"Coran teleported me back to Podunk," Ninten said. "I'm not sure why he even let me go. Maybe there was a shred of mercy left in him after all. But I don't think so. He took me back to Podunk so I would realize that I didn't belong. Coran told my dad about my psychic powers and left. My dad looked angrier than I had ever seen him before in my life. He told me that I should have killed myself."

"What?" Paula asked. "That's a terrible thing to say!"

"But my circumstances could lead to a terrible outcome," Ninten said. "The empirist movement bolstered under the discovery of an heir to the throne who would be around for another 70 or 80 years. Now that I think about it, that's probably why Morgan's brother disappeared after discovering his psionic powers. He didn't want anyone to prop him up as the emperor. So I can see why my dad would have preferred me dead. The empirists probably murdered thousands in my name. Still, I spent every night worrying that my dad would kill me in my sleep."

"Ninten," Paula said. "How did you manage to live like that?"

"Not well. This is going to sound crazy, but I was actually energetic and optimistic before that happened. Friendly, even. Now I'm the polar opposite of all those."

"Ninten…" tears came to Paula's eyes. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," Ninten said. "My life is actually heading up. After all, I have a wonderful girlfriend whose dress I can cower behind just like my dad expects me to."

"Ah, stop it," Paula said, blushing furiously. "We both know that you're the stronger one here. After you went through all of that and you can still joke about your dad like this, I think you deserve that title."

Right then, Ninten heard someone rapping on his door.

"Who is it?" Ninten asked.

"It's… Ana. May I come in?"

Paula shot a glance at Ninten. After their encounter in Peaceful Rest Valley, neither one of them knew what to expect from the group's unofficial leader.

"Sure," Ninten said. "You'll find that my room hasn't changed much."

Ana opened the door and walked in, wearing a nervous smile.

"You weren't kidding about your room, huh?" she asked. "Aw, you look so cute in those pictures with your little league team."

"Oh, I didn't even see those!" Paula said. "Oh my, you have the biggest grin out of anyone in the picture. It's hard to imagine you smiling like that now."

"Yeah, what happened?" Ana teased.

Ninten sighed. After he had just explained his sob story to Paula, Ana's remark hit him harder than it should have.

"Still hiding yourself, I see," Ninten said.

"You're still annoyed about that?" Ana asked. "I'm sorry for teleporting you two over here without your permission. Not a well thought out decision on my part."

"Ann," Ninten said. "We can help you. Please, just let us in."

"Sorry," Ana said. "I should really work these problems out by myself."

"You might want to worry less about what you _should_ do and worry more about what would help you the most," Ninten said.

"We can talk about this later, all right?" Ana said. "Are you two ready to head back to Onett?"

"Sure, after I say goodbye to Mimmie," Ninten said.

"And not the rest of your family?" Ana asked. "Why does that not surprise me? Before we go, there are a couple things that you should probably know."

"About you?" Paula asked.

"Can we please drop that already?" Ana asked, rolling her eyes. "No. First, Claus has a message for Ninten. He wants me to teleport both him and you to Winters so that you can head over to Dr. Andonuts' lab."

"Dr. Andonuts?" Paula said, furrowing her eyebrows. "Like… the inventor? Did I miss something while you were away on Vulcan?"

"Yeah, kind of," Ninten said. "Is it about Dynaldas and Amourus?"

"Right," Ana said. "The knives of power and love. Dr. Andonuts has both of them, and Claus wants to get them out of his hands. He's worried that Dr. Andonuts will find some way to unlock their stored psionic power… which they apparently have a lot of."

"I suppose that would be smart," Ninten said. "So I'm surprised that Claus came up with the idea."

Ana smiled and Paula snorted. Ninten wasn't sure which reaction he enjoyed more.

"He also told me to inform you that he got hold of a third knife of the same sort: Phonus, the knife of music."

"Music?" Paula asked. "Seems odd."

"That's just what Claus says," Ana said. "Onto the second point, there are reports of starmen gathering in Dalaam. Have either of you heard about this?"

Ninten and Paula shook their heads.

"Well, it probably means that they're planning an invasion," Ana said. "Unlike us, Starmen can only teleport short distances, so we can see where they're about to strike. I talked to Ness, and he wants to go to Dalaam and help defend it."

"That doesn't sound like a relaxing part of this whole 'vacation' plan," Ninten said.

"Would we really be happy if we knew that starmen were killing innocents in Dalaam while we drank margaritas in Summers?"

"The non-alcoholic ones, I hope," Ninten said.

"Whatever," Ana said, rolling her eyes. "This is _Ness_ that we're talking about. He chased after a serial killer out of moral obligation. Do you think that he would be happy sitting by on the other side of the world?"

"Ness did _what?_ " Paula said.

"It's a long story," Ninten said. "I see your point, Ann, and I think that your morals push you forward too. And in the end, I guess it's your decision."

"So I would go to Dalaam with you and Ninten would go to Winters?" Paula asked.

"You could probably come with Claus and me if you wanted," Ninten said. "Although I don't know. Girls might scare Claus away."

"It's okay," Paula said. "I'd just hold you two back if I came to Winters. Trucking through snow is not really my thing. I'll go with Ana and Ness to Dalaam."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Ninten asked.

"You don't have to," Paula said. "Claus probably needs you more than we do."

"And you're okay if we don't see each other for a while?" Ninten asked.

"I can tell that you're sad to leave me," Paula said. "That's all I need. It's enough to know that you care. I know that you don't need as much reassurance as I do, but… I'll miss you too."

Paula bent down and kissed Ninten on the lips, leaving him in a state of slight elation.

"Sounds good, then," Ana said. "I'll meet you two outside, all right? For now, I'll leave you with some privacy. Take as long to make your teary goodbyes as you need to."

Ana walked out of Ninten's room, closing the door behind her.

"Thanks for understanding, Paula," Ninten said. "I hope that you have fun in Dalaam. I hear that the food over there is really good and not as disgustingly greasy as the stuff that we eat."

"That does sound good," Paula said. "And I hope that you have a good time with Claus, too. I know that you two hated each other when you first met, and now you're basically best friends. I'll never understand people like you."

"Oh, it's simple," Ninten said. "We needed each other on Vulcan. Neither one of us wants to let that go, especially since we share a common cause."

"I wish that I could see people the way that you do," Paula said. "I guess that's just one of the many things that you have over me. Remember, Ninten, I'm proud of you for being such a sweet person despite your past. I'll try not to make fun of you for your tough guy attitude anymore."

"You're proud of me?" Ninten asked. "Who are you, my mom?"

"…But you make it hard not to poke fun at you with comments like those," Paula said. "Really, I am proud of you. It would be so easy to think that the universe is out to get you, but you give back instead of hiding away in a hole. I'll always admire that about you."

Ninten closed his eyes. It _had_ been tempting to stop caring. What had kept him moving forward for all of these years? To this day, he still didn't know. As he opened his eyes and looked at Paula's face, he supposed that it didn't matter.

"Thanks, Paula," Ninten said. "Thanks for everything."


	30. Chapter 25: Dalaam

**Hey, everyone! It's Monday, so that means that it's time for another update.**

 **I don't actually have much to say today (except that sleeping on the second floor sucks when it gets hot... because heat rises thanks science class), so I'll get straight into the review responses.**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Yeah, I was afraid that Ninten's story was kinda shoved in there, but I really wanted to tell it, so... yeah. It's true haha; a lot of my characters are disadvantaged by factors that they can't control. I like to write about characters that are generally competent and want to do good, so it's usually the environmental factors that drill weaknesses into them. Even the two big villains right now (Morgan and Minerva) started out pretty well. Heh, if _that_ comment could pass for racism then I'm screwed with this story. I don't portray Dalaam in a super positive light, as you're about to see. But then again, Ceres is basically this universe's version of America and I bash Ceresian culture all the time. See you later! :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** You'd _like_ to see that? D: I mean, I kinda would too, but... yeah, I don't think that Ninten would appreciate it. It's no wonder how Ninten ended up so bitter and cynical, huh? Teddy's attitude tends to rub off on people, and Ninten spent a lot of time with his dad. Of course, his grandfather's interference sparked it all, but his parents didn't do much to help him through his problems. Yeah, this chapter follows Ness into Dalaam... and you'll see the kind of welcome that they get. ;)

 **PSIBoy:** Yeah, Ninten's family was something that I always meant to get to but never could. They were supposed to play a bigger role in the story, but I had to cut a lot of their stuff out because this fic was already stretching on for too long and I wanted to add the Dalaam arc. Yeah, Morgan's basically a better fleshed out version of Ninten's mother, so I just made her super minor considering that Ninten already mentioned how little he likes her. Stereotypical indeed, I must admit. ;) It's just interesting for me to write about bad parents since mine are so awesome. A little bit of vicarious living, I suppose. Yeah, Ninten's character was interesting for me to discover... after writing the first interlude where he was super happy and energetic, it was a bit of a struggle to explain his current state. And that Ana scene was in the works for a _long_ time. I tried to drop hints along the way, and it's one of the few scenes that I imagined when I originally thought of this idea that made it into the final story.

Well, I _sorta_ tied the mushrooms in... In this fic, I tried to bring things closer to canon by twisting canon material to match my needs. I needed a deadly poison, so I decided to use tanetane mushrooms and change up their properties a little. Yeah, watch for the mushrooms; I can promise that they will play a major part later in this fic. ;) Well, you've seen by now that Morgan's the kind of person to focus single-mindedly on her current mission. To her, the flop with Lucas is in the past and she has a new goal to work towards. Idk what's with the number 3 but it happened to me by coincidence. And because PK Rockin, Starstorm, and Love seem like legendary powers, so I restricted them to that. As for a character death... we'll see. And yeah, getting in is a problem, but Ana always has the answer. :)

Yeah, Coran was supposed to be the major villain of the first Ceres fic but I realized that he would be a super boring character so I highlighted his death to bring Morgan and Boras into the fic in an eye-opening way. It's kind of funny how Morgan, a clear villain in this story, took out both Coran and Mr. Carpainter while not really killing any innocents. This fic will probably go longer than you expect... I'll just leave it at that. We are building up to the climactic fight, but the fic won't necessarily be over after that. :)

 **A Fan:** Ah, okay. Yeah, the italics are Minerva talking. Well, for having nothing to say, you made your review pretty long. :) Oh yeah, Ninten's family is super messed up. I mean, his great-uncle Boras was cool, but then Ninten killed him. And as you'll see in quite some time, it goes back further than his grandparents... But yeah, Coran is one nasty dude. Good thing that Morgan killed him, huh? And unfortunately, no more Mimmie. :( I wanted to add more about Ninten's family but this fic is already so long haha. Well, Lucas didn't kill _billions._ He didn't even kill thousands. He just killed a couple hundred villagers on Vulcan and a few psions. Well, Ana's family itself isn't bad, since her parents don't really know what Minerva did. I wonder what will happen when they find out... ;) And Ness' family is more or less normal, even though it still has its issues. It's true, though, like none of my characters have normal families. That's part of their struggles. :) And yeah, Kumatora hasn't said much about her family but I'll tell you now that it's not normal.

* * *

 _Perhaps I should speak more of the strange being that I see in my dreams. No, I never actually see it and it's never actually in my dream. But I can sense it, flying circles above my head like a vulture. Maybe it's waiting for me to die so that it can swoop in and take over._

 _After a few encounters with it, I'm convinced that this… thing isn't quite human. It can't be a starman, either; I would recognize one of those if I were drunk and delirious._

 _So what is it?_

* * *

"Ness," Claus said. "Do you remember those starmen a while back?"

Ness looked over his shoulder by habit. Even though he and Claus talked in a cave where nobody would ever find them, he still worried about people overhearing. The word "starmen" would pique anyone's interest.

"The ones that almost killed us at Giant's Step?" Ness asked.

"Right, them. You know how they teleported into a situation where they couldn't possibly escape, just to take a couple shots at Lucas?"

Ness gulped and nodded.

"That worries me," Claus said. "I won't be there to protect Lucas after I head off to Winters. If the starmen find him alone…"

"They'll either kill him or he'll use his psionics to fight back," Ness said.

"Right. And Lucas using psionics will lead to a fate worse than death. If he turns back into the mindless killing machine that I fought on Vulcan, thousands will die. To be honest, I would probably kill him right now if I thought that I could."

"That's a terrible thing to say!"

"Terrible, yet logical." Claus grimaced. "Do you really want to risk thousands of lives for my brother? But neither of us can kill him, so we'll have to reason with him instead. He has to see that going to Dalaam with you is his best option."

Ness crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. How could Claus say that he wanted his own brother dead? A brother whom he claimed to love, no less.

"Ah, I can sense him coming," Claus said. "Try your best to persuade him, all right? It's best for him if he sticks with you."

"All right," Ness said.

A hundred hypothetical scenarios played through Ness' head, none of them positive. What happened if Lucas flat-out refused to follow Ness to Dalaam? Ness couldn't force Lucas to accompany him, not with Lucas' godlike psionics. Would Ness have to stay with Lucas while his friends went off to possibly fight and die in a foreign land? But what if Lucas decided that he didn't need Ness at all? What if he rampaged through Onett and killed Ness' family?

Ness took a deep breath, forcing the unpleasant thoughts out of his mind. Worrying wouldn't do him any good.

"I'm sorry to put all this pressure on you," Claus said. "I mean that, Ness. You do so much more than I ever have for Lucas. It's no wonder that he idolizes you. It should be me talking to him about this." Claus turned around. "And it should have been me at his side after the bombs fell on Aphrodite. Maybe then, none of this would have happened."

"Claus," Ness said. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Claus turned back to face Ness, a smile cutting through the damp air in the cave.

"It's hard not to worry when you try to do all of this," Claus said. "You're just like he was. Maybe that's why I can't stop worrying about you."

Ness didn't even ask who "he" was. After all, "his" footsteps were approaching Ness right that moment.

"I can do this," Ness said. "I'll meet you outside, all right?"

"Sure," Claus said. "Good luck."

As Claus walked away, Ness heard him sniffle and wipe away tears from his face. Why Claus was crying, Ness figured that he would never find out.

* * *

It was surprisingly easy to convince Lucas to join him in his journey to Dalaam. Lucas explained that he felt no particular attachment to Onett or Eagleland in general, so he didn't understand why Ness even worried about moving him. Ness pointed out that Lucas would have to show his face to Ana so that she could teleport him, but that didn't appear to faze him either. Lucas shrugged and said that he didn't fear anyone in the world half as much as he feared himself. Ness let that slip without comment.

Ness led Lucas out to the area right in front of his house, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Nobody would recognize Lucas. Heck, most of the people wouldn't even know about anything that happened on Vulcan. Still, Ness pictured Ana wrinkling her nose upon seeing him with Lucas and grimaced. Knowing Ana, she probably knew exactly what Lucas looked like before having ever seen him.

When Ana did exit Ness' house, she looked at Lucas in curiosity rather than disgust. Still, Ness noticed how she tensed her muscles and pinned her eyes on him like a hawk.

"This is… him?" Ana asked.

"Yes," Lucas answered. "And you are Ana Aniah, yes? Ness spoke of you at great lengths."

"Nothing to embarrassing, I hope," Ana said. "I guess Ness must have described me pretty well for you to pick me out like that."

"On the contrary, Ness spoke little about your appearance. I could tell who you were from the way that Ness looked at you."

"You could?" Ness asked.

"Indeed," Lucas said. "You look nervous. You want to please her. I know those signs well."

Ness blushed. Something about Lucas' simplistic yet accurate analysis made Ness feel naked.

"Aw, I'm sorry that I make you nervous," Ana said to Ness. "Really, I'm not trying to."

"I believe," Lucas said, "That Ness is nervous about your opinion of me. Considering what I have done, it is a natural response."

"Well, I can't say that I'm _completely_ comfortable with you," Ana said to Lucas. "Since you're more talkative than my boyfriend, would you mind telling me why you're here?"

"He needs to come to Dalaam with us," Ness said. As Ana turned her gaze on him, Ness blushed again. "I mean, he doesn't _need_ to come with us, but…"

"Please, feel free to say what you mean to me," Ana said. "I'm afraid that subtleties don't make as much sense to me as hitting something with an axe."

"So is it acceptable if I join you?" Lucas asked.

"I guess that's okay," Ana said, nodding slowly. "You just need to keep your face hidden. Some Ceresian psions will be there, including my parents, and we don't want any of them recognizing you."

"I already try to avoid psions," Lucas said. "I know that you don't trust me to refrain from… repeating my past actions, so I thank you for accepting my request."

"Has anyone ever said that you're super formal for a teenager?" Ana asked.

"I simply speak Eagleish the best way that I can," Lucas said with a shrug. "Our language has many words; I pick ones with specific meanings to clarify my point."

 _Interesting,_ Ness thought. _He favors efficiency over following social norms._

"Ana," Ness said. "Your parents are going to be there?"

"Along with Minerva," Ana said. "You can meet them again, if you like."

Ness didn't know if Ana intended her offer as a joke, but Ness would like to meet Megan and Adam Aniah for the second time. He still dwelled on his fond memory of eating lunch with them from time to time.

"When do you plan to leave?" Lucas asked.

"Soon," Ana said. "As soon as Paula gets back from saying goodbye to her parents. We can all have one teary goodbye before we split up and head off to Dalaam."

"In that case, I should probably say goodbye to my family," Ness said. "It's hard to believe that I might not see them again for another five months."

"Right, and that we might be heading back into an active war zone," Ana said. "I know I've said this before, but you're completely free to sit this one out."

"I'm a psion, Ana. It's my duty to protect people."

"You duty or a demand from society?"

"All right," Ness said. "Maybe it isn't. I guess I just want to make sure that nobody else loses a dad."

Ana nodded. She had caught glimpses of Ness' depression caused by losing his father, so she probably understood his desire to prevent that fate from happening to others.

"I hope that after this is all over, we can take a nice trip to Summers," Ana said. "The beaches there are gorgeous. And since my parents are loaded, I can pay for everyone."

"We can debate the last point later," Ness said. "But I'll be looking forward to wading in the oceans of Summers."

Saying goodbye to his family went differently than Ness expected. His mother cried and told him a dozen times to stay safe. In her fit of worry, she didn't even mention her distrust for Ana. After hugging his mom for minutes, Ness went over and announced his departure to Tracy. He assumed that she would grunt and shoo him off, but Tracy actually seemed to care about his leaving. Her bittersweet smile told Ness everything that he needed to know about how she saw him.

"Listen, bro," she said. "You had better stay safe out there. I don't know what mom will do if you don't come home."

"All right," Ness said. "I'll try my best."

"Ness?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll miss you."

It wasn't an apology, but it was better than anything Tracy had said to him in years. Ness left his house in a mess, trying to straighten his composure as he approached his friends. For the first time, Paula managed to look at him without flinching, although Ness did spot unease resting behind her friendly smile. Ninten wore a scowl on his face, which was directed at nobody in particular. Lucas stood several feet away from Ness' friends, watching them with a neutral expression. Whenever Claus tried to move closer to Lucas, the blonde took a few steps backwards.

Ness exchanged brief goodbyes with Ninten and Claus, acknowledging that they would hopefully see each other soon. Ness didn't know exactly why Ninten and Claus wanted to visit Dr. Andonuts' lab in Winters, but he figured that it probably wasn't his business and didn't ask.

Ness loaned Ninten his portocom so that they could communicate if necessary. Ana teleported Ninten and Claus away to the Snow Wood boarding school in Winters, as that was the only place that she could visualize well enough.

"Well, is everyone ready to head off to Dalaam?" Ana asked.

Paula nodded, shooting an expectant glance at Ness.

"I'm ready," Ness said. "What about you, Lucas?"

"Anything is fine," Lucas said in his normal, emotionless voice. "So long as I stay with you."

"Well, it looks like you have a new buddy, huh?" Paula asked. "When did you two meet each other?"

 _Oh, right,_ Ness thought. _She probably doesn't know about what Lucas did on Vulcan._

Ness looked at Ana. She flashed a glance that said, _We'll tell her about it later._

"I actually introduced them to each other," Ana lied. "Lucas goes to school on Ceres with us, but you've probably never seen him before because he's mentally handicapped. He doesn't do well in social situations, so he's in an entirely different program from ours."

"Oh," Paula said. "Does he live in Onett too?"

"No," Ana said. "He just wanted to come to Dalaam with us. I recommended that we talk to his parents, but…"

"I'm also an orphan," Lucas finished.

"Oh!" Paula exclaimed. "I'm sorry."

"I don't worry about it," Lucas said. "And neither should you. It happened years ago." Lucas paused, looking up at the sky. "Time changes all things."

With Lucas and Paula acquainted, Ness sat back as Ana explained that the capital City of Dalaam, Yazhou, rested on top of a tall mountain. She recounted looking off cliffs that stood above the clouds. The difference in oxygen from the high altitude, Ana explained, would cause any psion teleporting directly to fall unconscious and most likely die within an hour. Therefore, psions teleported to many different locations before reaching Yazhou, giving their bodies plenty of time to acclimate at each step of the way.

"Well, that's inconvenient," Paula said. "It's kind of hard to help them when we need to spend a couple of days to let our bodies get used to the elevation."

"Actually, it's a defense measure," Ana said. "A group of psions can't just teleport in and sack the city whenever they want to. The Romans tried that once. They all died within minutes because their body couldn't handle such a drastic change of oxygen levels in such a short time."

"So that's why Dalaam was never conquered, huh?" Ness asked.

"Right," Ana said. "Which means that it became part of the empire in name only. They basically functioned on their own for millennia, leading to more than a bit of xenophobia. As foreigners, we'll have to step carefully."

"You know a lot about Dalaam," Lucas pointed out. "Have you visited before?"

"Yeah," Ana said, "So I should be able to navigate us at least a little. I'm also going to enlist us a guide. He's… not always the most serious, but he understands both rural and urban Dalaam quite well. Our first stop will be at his village, actually. It's pretty close to the bottom of the mountain."

"Sounds good," Paula said. "It's hard to believe that we're actually going to _Dalaam._ Everyone always says that Yazhou is one of the most beautiful places on Earth."

"I won't deny that," Ana said. "But it's a little like Ceres. Once you start to look a little deeper…"

"Then what?" Ness asked.

"Let's just stick together, all right?" Ana said. "I'd prefer that none of you experience it firsthand."

 _Okay, now I'm really worried,_ Ness thought.

"Is everyone set to go?" Ana asked. "You all packed warm clothes and sunscreen? We _are_ heading to the top of a mountain."

Three heads nodded slowly; Even Lucas hesitated before confirming his decision.

"All right," Ana said. "Teleport."

* * *

Ness appeared on a road flanked on either side by fields of rice. Immediately, he shivered. Winter in northern Eagleland wasn't exactly warm, but these temperatures threatened to chill Ness to the bone.

"Don't push yourself too hard," Ana said. "We went up almost a thousand feet in less than a second. Your body will need some time to adjust."

As Ana lead them towards a village in the near distance, Ness felt the effects of the altitude difference set in. Even walking at a brisk pace left Ness short of breath. He looked back and saw that Paula was breathing deeply as well while Lucas looked no different. By the time that they got close to the village, Ness' heart screamed at him to stop.

"Hmm, that's strange," Ana said, looking at the village. "I don't see anyone out and about."

"Maybe they're just reclusive?" Paula offered.

"They weren't the last time I visited," Ana said. "Did something happen?"

"In front of you," Lucas said. "An armed man. Is that normal for such a small village?"

Ness squinted; he could barely make out a man leaning on a house and sharpening his sword.

"No," Ana said, drawing out the word. "That's not normal at all. And I spot horses over there."

"There's a military force here," Paula said. "Maybe to protect the village from starmen?"

"But starmen wouldn't attack this village," Ana said. "Let's get closer and see what's going on."

Ana lead Ness and the others up to the village entrance. A pair of cavaliers rode up wielding oriental-looking spears. They regarded Ness and his friends suspiciously, conversing in their own language. Ness couldn't make out the words, but he caught the angry tone of their voices. Xenophobic indeed.

"Foreigners," one of the men asked in a heavily accented voice. "Why do you intrude on our land?"

"We come to help," Ana said. "We wish to help Dalaam against the starman force."

More chattering in the Dalaamian language.

"Foreigners are not welcome in Dalaam," the same cavalier said. "How did you make it this far without anyone stopping you?"

 _"Careful,"_ Ana said telepathically. _"Dalaam takes a rather anti-psionics view. They consider it witchcraft."_

"We took side roads," Ana said. "We did not wish to disturb Dalaamian merchants."

"The side roads are patrolled," the cavalier said. "You tried to hide yourselves from us intentionally."

"What if we did?" Ana asked. "Would you use force against unarmed travelers?"

"That one carries a sword." The cavalier pointed at Lucas.

"One boy with a sword," Ana said. "Against two mounted, fully armored warriors. We mean you no harm."

"You disrespect us," the cavalier said. "You disrespect Dalaam. You tread on our land, hide from our patrols, and dare to address us as equals." The cavalier formed a bloodless smile. "And it is an insult that you address us at all. Don't you have a man to do the talking for you?"

 _"Ah, I forgot how sexist Dalaam can be,"_ Ana said telepathically.

The other cavalier said something to his partner in Dalaamian.

"Indeed," the cavalier said. "Perhaps we shall take your heads and send them back to your parents so that nobody bothers us again."

"W-What?" Paula asked. "You can't be serious!"

"Most Dalaamians are hostile towards foreigners, but this is crazy," Ana said. "Who _are_ you people?"

"We," the cavalier said. "Belong to the… how do I say it in Eagleish? Revivalists, I think. Your language is so primitive."

"Wait," Ness said. "Ana. Aren't those the…"

"The rebels trying to overthrow the government, yes," Ana said. "I had no idea that they were this bold."

"By the honor of our ancestors, we shall not fail in our quest!" the cavalier said. "Now, enough talking. Time to meet whatever god you worship, outsider."

"I'm agnostic," Ana said. "Mind thrust."

The Dalaamian cavalier crumpled and fell out of his saddle. The other cavalier gasped, looking at Ana and trembling.

"Yes, I'm a witch," Ana said. "Now, I don't know if you can understand me, but if you can, go tell your friends that I'll do the same to them if they don't get the psych out of this village."

The cavalier gulped and ran away.

"Ana," Ness said. "Did you really need to do that?"

"He's not dead," Ana said with a shrug. "Although we might want to kill him. When he wakes up, I don't think that he'll appreciate what I did."

"Please, no!" Ness exclaimed. "Can't we do… I don't know, something else?"

"Like what?" Ana asked.

"I don't know!" Ness exclaimed. "I… I just don't want him to die. There's already too much death in this world."

"And by killing him, we prevent even more deaths," Ana said.

 _Can't you see that killing him makes us no different than the empirists?_ Ness wanted to shout. _Everyone thinks that they're doing the right thing. Even Mr. Carpainter did, when he ordered my death._

"But if you really want to, we can probably find some other way," Ana said.

"I'll stay with him," Lucas said. "I doubt that you trust me to talk with these Dalaamians anyway. If he wakes up, I'll knock him right out."

"Thank you, Lucas!" Ness said.

"It's tempting for me to stay behind too," Paula said with a weak smile. "Negotiating and fighting aren't really my strengths."

"Feel free," Ana said, "But remember, we may need you to help defend Yazhou from starmen in the future, so this might be good practice."

"You're right," Paula said. "And I want to come with you. But… fighting a person is different than a starman. If I can look into a human's eyes and see the pain, I start to wonder. Did they have a family? Hopes and dreams? They must." Paula blushed. "I think I'll hesitate. I'll freeze. I might become a liability to you."

"Hopefully, we won't have to fight anyone right now," Ness said. "But yeah, I get what you mean. I promised myself years ago that I would never kill anyone ever again."

Paula's eyes widened slightly.

 _"Again?"_ her expression asked. _Who did you kill the first time?_

Ness squeezed his eyes shut. The voices of the cultists that he killed still haunted him during the nights.

"Are you okay, Ness?" Ana asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "If you need to sit this one out too…"

"No, I'm fine," Ness said. "We're probably not going to fight anyway, right? You did a pretty good job of scaring them off?"

"I don't know," Ana said. "When people are afraid, they tend to fight first and think later. And these Dalaamians are _terrified_ of psionics."

Ness bit his lip. Would he never escape from this cycle of war and death?

"Still," Ness said. "I'm in this with you."

"Same," Paula said, her voice barely audible.

Ana smiled. It was the best thing that Ness had seen all day.

"Then I've got your backs," she said.

* * *

Ness, Paula, and Ana walked through the Dalaamian village, careful to keep their steps quiet and their movements gradual. Ness made eye contact with a young boy cowering next to one of the huts. The boy stood up straight and looked at Ness with terrified eyes. His lip twitched in fear; his arms fell to his side in submission.

"Hey," Paula said, walking towards the boy. "Is everything all right?"

The boy quivered; although Paula's welcoming smile calmed him down somewhat.

"Can you speak to me in Eagleish?" Paula asked. She bent down and set her hands on the boy's shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"O-Outsiders!" The boy stammered. "You're outsiders!"

"Shh," Paula said, her voice comforting rather than condescending. "We're just people who want to help you. Are you scared of us?"

"Yes. You scary." The boy shied back. "Are you with bad men?"

The boy looked old enough to speak with proper grammar; Ness supposed that the language difference likely caused his improper speech patterns.

"Do you mean the Revivalists?"

"Bad men," the boy repeated. "New. Like you."

"We're not with them," Paula said. "We're trying to stop them. Do you understand? We're good people."

"You… fight bad men?" the boy asked, cocking his head.

"Yes," Paula said. "We'll protect you."

"They took mom and dad," the boy said. "They'll take me, too."

"We're going to get them back for you," Paula said. "I promise."

The boy looked into Paula's eyes and his muscles relaxed.

"You… promise?" he said.

"Yes. We just have to know where they are."

"Bad men take mom and dad to tall building," he said, pointing at what looked like the village hall in the distance. "Dad tried to fight, but bad men beat him."

"What did you do after they took your parents?" Paula asked.

"I live with friend's dad. Bad men took his mom away, too."

"But not his dad?" Ana asked.

The boy flinched away from Ana, looking at Paula with begging eyes.

"You can tell me," Paula said. "They took other moms away, right? What about dads?"

The boy hesitated.

"Dads…" he said. "Village men… Most were safe. Bad guys only took away strong men."

"So the fighters, then," Ana said. "That means the women were…" she and Paula exchanged a horrified glance.

"What?" Ness asked.

"Oh my god," Paula said. "You don't actually think…?"

"Yeah, it probably is," Ana said. "These Revivalists are even worse than I thought."

"What is it?" Ness asked.

"Think about it," Paula said. "Why would a group of all men capture a bunch of women and lock them away?"

Ness' eyes widened. It couldn't be…

"We have to go there _now,_ " Ana said. "I'll give these revivalists a piece of my mind… in the form of PK psionics."

"What?" the Dalaamian boy ask. "What you say?"

"They're going to fight the bad men," Paula said. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

The boy managed a weak nod.

"I forgot how good you are with kids, Paula," Ness said. "It's a good thing that your parents ran a preschool, huh?"

"Yeah," Paula said, her voice grim. "You two go out there and kick some ass, all right?" She turned to the boy. "Don't go around repeating that word, all right?"

"What word?" the boy asked.

"Exactly," Paula said.

"Don't worry, Paula," Ana said. "We'll make those barbarians pay for their crimes."

Ness nodded weakly. He didn't feel the same rage that Ana did, but considering what the revivalists might be doing to those women… Well, Ness couldn't blame her.

Ana took off in a jog towards the large building in the center of town where the revivalists kept their prisoners. Ness followed behind, his heart burning from the exertion. Before they arrived at their destination, a couple dozen cavaliers flooded the streets in front of them.

"You monsters!" Ana shouted. "Tell me, what are you doing with the women that you captured?"

A lone cavalier stepped out in front. He wore gleaming, bronze breastplate that identified him as the commander of the unit.

"That," the leader said, "Is none of your concern. Is it true that you are a witch?"

"Answer me or I'll blow your psyching head off!" Ana shouted.

"Such… disorderly conduct." The commander wrinkled his nose. "Kill them both."

The cavaliers hesitated for a second. Even without reading their minds, Ness could tell what they were thinking. If Dalaamians truly regarded psions as witches, then they would feel less than comfortable with attacking them directly.

"Are you deaf?" the leader shouted. "Kill them!"

This time, the cavaliers urged their horses forward into a gallop. The thundering of hooves shook the ground as the horses rushed towards Ness and Ana. Even if they managed to take out some of the riders, Ness and Ana would still have to deal with a herd of stampeding horses.

"Oh no you don't!" Ana screamed, grabbing onto Ness' arm. "Blink!"

The next second, Ness and Ana stood _behind_ the line of charging horses. The riders tried to slow their horses down, but it would take seconds before the beasts could come to a complete halt and turn around.

"What?" the cavalier leader shouted. "You warped over all of my soldiers? How is that possible?"

"I'm a witch," Ana said. "And you know what else witches can do."

A flame appeared in Ana's hand. She flashed an evil smile.

"Please!" the leader shouted, sending his horse into a backwards trot. "Spare me!"

"Maybe you shouldn't mess with outsiders that can kill you next time," Ana said. "PK Freeze."

The cavalier commander didn't have time to scream before ice encased his body. He fell backwards off his horse, landing on the ground with a stiff _thud._ Ness looked at his face, locked into a terrified expression. His mouth opened, revealing an ice-coated mouth and throat on the inside. Ness could almost hear the silent scream that came from his frozen lips.

"You killed him," Ness said numbly.

By now, the cavaliers had halted their horses and turned around. None of them seemed eager to charge at Ana.

"Yes, and I don't feel bad about it in the slightest," Ana said. "If only he could have suffered more."

"Ana…"

"What?" she shouted. "He's probably holding the women from the village as sex slaves, Ness. He basically admitted it! Do you honestly think that he deserved the mercy that I gave him? He could have died a far more painful death, you know."

Silence. None of the remaining cavaliers moved; none of their horses snorted.

"Well?" Ana asked.

"I don't blame you for killing him, Ana," Ness said. "It's just sad that he had to die."

"And it's not sad that the women he captured probably got _raped_?"

"I never said that!" Ness sighed. "I just… don't like it when people die."

"And you think that I do?"

"You said that you wanted him to suffer more!" Ness shouted.

"He's different." Ana crossed her arms over her chest. "He's hardly human."

"If our enemies are hardly human, then what comes next?" Ness asked. "Where do we draw the line?"

"I don't know, but maybe _somewhere_ past killing rapists."

Ness heard a _twang_ behind him. He whirled around, spotting an archer poking his head out from behind a hut…

But the arrow wasn't aimed at him or Ana.

The projectile sailed through the air and took one of the cavaliers in the eye. Three more arrows followed, two of which hit their targets. Three dead cavaliers fell off their horses. The remaining revivalists urged their horses into a gallop and sped away.

The archer grunted in approval, lowering his bow. He walked out into the streets, sizing up Ness and Ana. Ness readied his hands to manifest PSI, but Ana signaled him to put his guard down.

"You may want to be careful with your assumptions, Ana," the archer said. "The women were supposed to be used as mere hostages to bully the village into handing over its resources. Too many people hiding their valuables, you know?"

"So… nobody was raped?" Ness asked hopefully.

"Of course there was rape," the archer said. "But it was against the rules, and the man Ana killed was not one of the offenders. Too bad I missed my fourth shot. I could have rid the world of yet another rapist."

"You targeted the cavaliers _specifically?_ " Ness asked.

"This young man is quite the skilled archer," Ana said. "He's also the guide that I mentioned earlier." She turned away. "I'm… sorry for raising my voice at you, Ness. And for jumping to conclusions."

"Eh, nobody can stay mad at you for long," the archer said, walking up to them. "Besides, the lieutenant _did_ probably deserve to die; it's just that rape was not one of his sins." Xiyen shook his head. "It took me a lot of undercover work to figure out which of those cavaliers were the worst."

"Thanks," Ana said weakly. "That makes me feel a little better."

"And who do we have here?" the archer asked, gesturing towards Ness.

"Ah," Ana said. "This is my boyfriend, Ness."

"Oh-ho," the archer said, extending his hand towards Ness. "You hit the jackpot, huh?"

Ness blushed, shaking the archer's hand.

"He's a psion too, so he knows Poo from school on Ceres," Ana said.

The archer's eyes lit up.

"Poo's my half-brother," the archer said. "The name's Xiyen. It's nice to meet you."


	31. Chapter 26: Winters

**Happy July, everyone! :) How's everyone doing? I tallied up my totals and I managed to write 14 chapters for Ceres in June, which amounts to about 60-70k words. Not bad... that might be an all-time record for me... at least since I finished City of Progress, anyways. I've also written a good 15k-ish words on... something else that I hope to show you guys soon. ;)**

 **Anyways, we're back to Ninten with this chapter. Most of this chapter was rather spontaneous; I really had no idea where I was going with any of it. I think that it turned out all right, though (and maybe even better than my regular chapters that I plan out in my head).**

 **The first part of the chapter is more or less comic relief. It's not something that I stick into my stories often, but after all of the dark stuff that's happened I decided not to cut any of it. It gets more serious later on.**

 **So yeah, not too much plot here, which made me think that this would be one of the weaker chapters, but maybe not? I guess I'll wait to hear how you guys think about it. :)**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Yeah, I try to plan things out so that every character has a purpose. The downside of that is that sometimes the characters end up feeling more constrained or less interesting since they're often present for a specific purpose. I'm trying to balance between the two (efficiency of characters and how natural they feel). Yeah, Claus and Ness gave a brief explanation, but I guess it wasn't super clear. Basically, they want to stay near Lucas so that they can protect him since they figure that the starmen will chase him no matter where he is. I mean, part of the difference in attitudes between Ness and Ana is due to upbringing, but I would argue that a part of it is also just natural personality. Because I can tell you right now that Tracy would have no problems with killing that guy. See you! :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Yeah, thank goodness, huh? Well, Ness is pretty much unwilling to kill anyone no matter what, so being "forced" to kill someone... Yeah, I'll leave that one without further comment. I get what you mean; seeing characters face their worst fears is quite compelling. :)

 **crabbyTomato:** It's true that starmans are pretty mechanical, so what Ninten interpreted as a death scream was actually more like "Oh, I'm dead." I was wondering if anyone would comment on that. ;) I mean, Ninten's family is still in a better shape than Lucas' and Claus'. But yeah, they're not in a great spot. Yeah, Ninten's father is... pretty bad. I don't know where the doll was in the game; I hardly understood anything that was going on haha. And finally, Paula does something that you don't find a way to criticize. ;)

Yep, and we're focusing on Winters today. Lucas can read Ness' facial cues well, although he doesn't grasp a lot of the subtleties... part of his competence in that area is that his stay in Giant's Step helped tone back his psionic savantism a bit. He still has a long way to go, though. Well, Lucas mostly rejects Claus because of their past, but yeah Lucas does trust Ness and uses him to fill a role similar to a brother. Yup, Dalaam's not in a great position. And yeah, those Revivalists are a lovely bunch. The Revivalists are new to the village, yeah. It seems quite possible that they're working with the starmen, no? And yeah, I liked Xiyen enough in the interlude that I just had to put him in the regular story. :)

* * *

 _For the first time, the being from my dreams spoke to me._

 _It is powerful beyond compare. To converse, it ripped my psionic self away from my physical self and transported my psionic essence over to a place where we could talk… sort of like a telecommunicator would. It speaks of things that I don't understand, of utopias and words of stained glass, of chaos and music._

 _This… thing functions in a fundamentally different way than we do. Whereas we see, interpret, and often draw conclusions based on instinct, this being views the universe as a math problem. For every question, there is a right answer (or answers) that can be deduced. All is known. Explanations and beliefs can only be right or wrong, with nothing in between._

 _I know that's a terrible explanation, but it's the best that I can give. Needless to say, it freaks the shit out of me._

* * *

Ninten appeared in what looked like a chemistry classroom. A chalkboard stretched across an entire wall, providing more room to write than any professor would reasonably need. Various chemicals lay strewn about in circular, thin-necked beakers. Ninten only knew the basics of chemistry, but he couldn't imagine that a competent scientist actually ran this classroom. A real chemist wouldn't leave so many lab chemicals out at once.

"Did Ana have to teleport us inside of a psyching room?" Claus asked. "I swear, if someone finds out that we're here…"

The door to the classroom opened, revealing a young, redheaded man wearing a lab coat and goggles. He stared at Claus and Ninten for a full second.

"You were saying?" Ninten prodded.

"Who are you two and what are you doing in my lab?" the redhead asked. "And for that matter, how did you even get in? The door was still locked just a few seconds ago."

"Magic," Claus said.

"Hmph," the redhead said. "There is no such thing as magic. Anything and everything can be explained with science."

"Including jokes?" Claus asked.

"Yes, indeed," the redhead said, his eyes lighting up. "Humor is an evolutionary mechanism designed to hone one's wit. Because, of course, wit comes along with creative thinking, which is quite advantageous to survival. So by creating a social environment where clever jokes are rewarded, a species increases its fitness, leading to-"

"Please," Claus said. "Spare me from this lecture."

Claus flopped on the ground and made gurgling noises as if he were dying.

"See, that is _not_ funny," the redhead said, "Leading to criticism from your peers, encouraging you to grow smarter and become more adaptable, and thereby increasing your fitness as an individual."

"I'm dying," Claus wheezed. "Ninten, please hear my last request…"

"Knock it off." Ninten nudged Claus with his foot. "I apologize, Mr. Scientist. My friend here is quite the drama queen."

"Says the person who cried for three days straight after getting locked in a metal cube," Claus said, standing up and dusting himself off.

"At least I can contain my drama if I need to. You, on the other hand, are hopeless."

"And that's why I make the best friend ever, right?" Claus asked, winking at Ninten.

 _I can't believe that we were almost at each other's throats a few months ago,_ Ninten thought. _Man, how times change._

"Let's start over," the redheaded scientist said. "Who _are_ you?"

"I'm Ninten, and this is Claus. And you are…?"

"The name's Maxewell Labs. Now, what are you doing he-"

"Wait, is 'Labs' your _actual_ last name?" Claus asked. "That's hilarious."

"The mayor of Fourside's name is Enrich Flavour," Ninten said. "He used to work for a yogurt company. Coincidences like that are more common than you would expect."

"Are you serious?" Claus asked. He started laughing. "Man, this universe is psyched up in so many ways."

"Ahem." Maxwell cleared his throat. "As I was _saying,_ what are you two doing in here? This is a reputable boarding school, and you two certainly aren't students here. Especially you with the sword." Maxwell backed away from Claus.

"Should we tell him the truth?" Ninten asked.

"No, let's lie right to his face," Claus said sarcastically. "If you ask that question, then of course I'm going to say yes."

"All right," Ninten said. "We're psions… Well, I'm a psion and he's a psychic warrior. We've come to meet with Dr. Andonuts."

"Oh, psions?" Maxwell said. His demeanor turned from cautious to docile in an instant. "Please excuse my rudeness, sirs. Truly, I didn't mean to-"

"If you're really sorry, you could fetch me some coffee," Claus said with a yawn. "I need something to wake up."

"Of course. Right away, sir."

"My friend," Ninten said through gritted teeth. "Is joking. We are perfectly fine on our own, and we don't wish to intrude on this school."

"Wait," Claus said. "We don't? You _lied_ to me!"

"Ignore him," Ninten said. "Now, we wish to meet with Dr. Andonuts, but neither of us have actually visited him. A friend teleported us to the nearest place that she could remember, which is here. We'll leave you alone and be on our way."

"Are you sure?" Claus said. "I like being treated with respect. And I wasn't joking about the coffee, either. I really need something to rev me up."

"You will be fine," Ninten said. "I apologize for my friend, Mr. Labs."

"Please, call me Max." Maxwell smiled awkwardly. "It's quite an honor, meeting not one but two psionics-users. I've never seen your type before; would you mind demonstrating your powers for me?"

"This guy thinks we're lying about our powers, Ninten!" Claus said.

"I would in his place," Ninten said. "You sure don't act like a Ceresian psion."

"No, no, it's not that at all!" Maxwell protested. "I just… wish to see a demonstration."

Maxwell chuckled nervously.

"Sure, sure," Claus said. "I can see it written all over your face. You think that we're just a couple of teenagers pulling a prank on you."

Maxwell paled visibly.

"Stop it, or you'll give the poor man a heart attack," Ninten said. "Here, Max. Look at that empty beaker."

Ninten activated his psychokinesis. Slowly, the beaker started to rise off of the table. After a few seconds, it nearly touched the ceiling.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Maxwell said. "You make it look easy!"

"Well, this _is_ relatively easy for even an inexperienced psion like me." Gently, Ninten used psychokinesis to set the beaker down on the table. "Honestly, the hardest part is keeping it from rotating."

"Well, aren't you a special snowflake?" Claus asked. "Get it? Because we're in Winters? And it snows here? Heh. Heh."

"I assume that is enough of a demonstration?" Ninten asked, ignoring Claus.

"Yes, yes," Maxwell said. "That is wonderful! Thank you so much, Master Ninten. Is there anything else that you require before you go to visit Dr. Andonuts?"

"I believe that I mentioned coffee…" Claus said.

"Directions, please," Ninten said. "I know that his lab is south of here, but not much more than that."

"Yes, yes, of course." Maxwell bobbed his head vigorously. "It's actually quite simple. You go south from here, which is directly away from the school's front gate, and you'll arrive at Lake Tess. After you cross to the other side… Err, you _do_ have a way to cross the lake, right?"

"We're psions," Claus said. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Well, I don't doubt you," Maxwell said. "So after you cross Lake Tess, you'll end up on a small patch of land. From there, you enter a cave, exit at Stonehenge, and you'll spot Dr. Andonuts' lab."

"Stonehenge?" Ninten said. "You mean…"

"Yeah, _the_ Stonehenge," Maxwell said. "Honestly, I'm surprised that you didn't know that Dr. Andonuts' lab is right next to it. He studies that site quite a bit."

"First I've heard of it," Claus said.

"It appears a lot in Earth folklore," Ninten explained. "So I'm not surprised that it's new to you."

"Do you need anything else?" Maxwell asked.

"Coffee?" Claus asked.

"Nah, I think we're good," Ninten said. "I mean, we're psions. If something pops up, we can probably deal with it ourselves. Right, Claus?"

"Yep. With your brains and my optimism, nothing will stand in our way!"

* * *

"Well, shit," Claus said. "The gate's closed."

After exiting the boarding school, Ninten and Claus had found themselves in a courtyard enclosed by a gate that led out of the school. As the sun was just rising, it appeared that the students were still under curfew.

"Why did Ann have to wake us up so early to leave?" Ninten asked, unable to keep from yawning.

"She said it had to do with giving her gang the maximum amount of time to acclimate to different altitudes so that they could make it decently far up the Dalaamian mountain before they went to sleep."

"That was a rhetorical question," Ninten said.

"I figured. I responded anyway."

"Thanks, I hadn't noticed," Ninten said dryly. "…Huh. Do you know how we can get past the gate? Could we scale the walls or something?"

"Probably not."

"And the gate looks too tall to climb over."

"Yep."

"Well, you're a big help."

"Hey, I'm just telling the truth," Claus said. "We _can't_ scale the wall, and we _can't_ climb over the gate."

"So what are we going to do?" Ninten asked. "You said yourself that nothing could stand in our way. Are you going to give up at the sight of a closed gate?"

"It's tempting," Claus said. "Honestly, how are we going to get past it?"

"We're psions!" Ninten said. "Our kind invented extradimensional travel! We discovered nuclear power! There's got to be a way to get over this gate."

"With psionics? I can't think of anything." Claus cocked his head. "Actually, there's a psychic warrior power that lets me jump high. I never bothered to learn it because it seemed so useless."

"I can't believe it," Ninten said. "We escaped the deadliest mines in the universe, we managed to defeat a psionic savant…"

"Well, you didn't actually help me fight Lucas," Claus pointed out.

"We reformed Ceres' foreign policy by putting Gerardo Montague in charge of relations with Vulcan," Ninten continued, ignoring Claus. "And we get stopped by a psyching gate?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Should I grab Maxwell to unlock it for us?"

"I can't believe this," Ninten muttered. "Yeah, go ahead."

* * *

Claus came out a few minutes later, sipping coffee from a paper cup. Maxwell Labs scuttled up to the gate, opening and closing his mouth several times. Ninten glared at Claus, following up with a sigh and a shake of his head.

"What?" Claus asked. "It didn't take me _that_ long to get out here."

"The coffee," Ninten said. "I told you not to use Mr. Labs like that."

"Aw, come on," Claus said. "He even offered!"

"You're a leech," Ninten said, rolling his eyes. "Mr. Labs, would you mind unlocking the gate before my friend makes off with your entire coffee stash?"

"Of course, sir," Maxwell said. "I apologize for not anticipating this problem."

"Ah, is that why you were hesitating like you're about to ask a girl out?" Claus said. "Don't worry about it. We told you that we didn't need help, remember? This is shit that _we_ stepped into."

Maxwell's cheeks reddened.

"If you say so, sir."

The scientist pulled a key out of his lab coat pocket and unlocked the gate. The two halves creaked open, and Ninten could almost picture the halves of the gates as arms being thrust to reveal the world beyond the walls of society. Ninten and Claus walked through the gate and shut the barred doors behind them.

"Thanks for your help, Maxwell," Ninten said. "Claus appreciates your help too, even if he doesn't say it."

"Thanks for the coffee!" Claus shouted, waving goodbye.

Maxwell hesitated before returning Claus' wave. After he went back in the building, Claus laughed.

"That guy screams 'scientist' on so many levels," the psychic warrior said. "Intellectual, abysmal social skills, awkward… although, the last two really go together, don't they?"

"He does fit the stereotype," Ninten said. "But I'm sure that both he and other scientists are more than the few character traits that make up that stereotype."

"Sure, sure," Claus said. "I just think it's funny."

Claus and Ninten then mapped out a plan for how to get to Dr. Andonuts' lab. Claus wanted to head directly south towards Lake Tess, but Ninten insisted that they stock up on supplies first. When Claus pointed out that as psions, both of them could sustain themselves for weeks without food or water, Ninten referenced his disastrous experience in the caves. After arguing for longer than it would have taken to visit the market in the first place, Claus agreed to stock up on supplies.

Ninten walked over to a boring little town that lay right next to the school, presumably to give students easy access to the stores. It reminded Ninten of his home town Podunk. Located in the middle of nowhere, this town made pitiful attempts to commercialize and probably only kept its economy running because of the nearby school. Most shops sold books, candy, snacks, and heavy clothes for students that didn't understand just how cold Winters was. Ninten bought extra jackets for him and Claus, despite Claus' protests that psions could convert psionic energy into extra body heat.

Claus wandered off as Ninten went to buy food. After Ninten loaded up his backpack with beef jerky and dried fruit, Claus returned and blew a bubble out of gum that he had apparently obtained.

"Hey, Ninten," Claus said. "Do people speak Eagleish differently here?"

Claus held up a plastic case that said "Pak of Bubble Gum." He looked intently at Ninten, awaiting a response, but he somewhat mitigated his look of attentiveness by blowing another bubble.

"Nah," Ninten said. "It's misspelled on purpose. Ann told me that the boarding school houses some grade schoolers. To them, 'Pak' is probably a funny word."

"Funny enough to me," Claus said, smirking before he blew another bubble. "It's actually pretty clever."

"It really isn't. And it kind of bugs me when you blow bubbles so big that they pop. Would you please stop it?"

In response, Claus popped the bubble that he was blowing, getting gum all over his face. Ninten sighed. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Thankfully, Claus didn't blow any more bubbles during their march to Lake Tess. He still chewed almost nonstop on his gum, but Ninten wasn't about to complain. It took several hours of hiking before they reached the lake; by the time that they arrived, neither of them wanted to try crossing it, boat or no.

On the lake's shores, Ninten found a group of people camping out with sand-colored tents set up and binoculars in their hands. They introduced themselves as the Tessie-Watching Club. Ninten bit down his remarks about how the mythical beast that they were looking for was clearly fake and was glad that he did so. Shortly after introducing himself, the club offered to let Ninten and Claus stay the night in one of their tents. Ninten wouldn't have declined for a thousand golden dollars.

Ninten spent that night eating warm stew and listening to tales about Tessie from the club members. As Claus lived on Aphrodite for most of his life and had never heard of Tessie, he probably didn't need to fake interest. Ninten bit back his tongue every time that the Tessie-Watching Club mentioned the mythical creature that supposedly lurked the depths of Lake Tess. Best to let them have their fun. After all, what was the harm in believing? Life could be a lot worse. That night, Ninten drifted off to sleep warm and happy.

The next day, he and Claus looked upon the lake with fresh eyes.

It didn't help their motivation.

"How do we cross that thing?" Ninten asked, shaking his head. "It looks like almost a mile until we hit the patch of land that Maxwell told us about."

"Will the Tessie-Watching Club lend us a canoe or something?" Claus suggested.

"I asked. They didn't bring any."

"Well, according to the stories last night, Tessie appears on windy days." A gust of wind ruffled Claus' hair. "So maybe we can just ride Tessie across."

"Mm," Ninten said. "It would be more likely for us to sprout wings."

"That's only because we can use PSI so there's a legitimate possibility of shapeshifting," Claus said. "Couldn't we just walk around the lake?"

"We could, but it would take days. The lake extends to the east and west far longer than we can see. Think of the lake as a banana-shape. We're on the middle of the banana. If we go around, we have to circle around half of a banana. But if we cross directly, it's much less distance."

"We could do it anyway," Claus said.

"These suggestions just keep getting worse, don't they?"

"I don't hear you coming up with any better ones."

"I'm not the one who had to survive on their own and probably encounter many situations like this on Aphrodite."

"Oh yeah, like I was living out in the forest like a beast." Claus paused. "Well, I actually was, but that doesn't help me cross nearly-frozen lakes. Wait… nearly frozen. Ninten, could you use your psionics to freeze a path for us to walk across? I mean, the water's already cold enough to sting like a psyching knife."

"Am I to assume that you waded in the lake yourself, then?"

"Stuck my hand in," Claus said. "I would not recommend it. Answer the psyching question."

"No, I don't think that I could," Ninten said. "I'm pretty weak compared to most psions and freezing anything requires a lot of psychic energy. I could pull it off for a while, but for up to a _mile?_ There's no way."

Claus grunted. He adjusted his eye patch, muttering under his breath.

"Anything else?" Ninten asked.

"Does it psyching look like I have…" Claus trailed off, looking like something miraculous dawned upon him. "I think I might have something."

"Well? Let's hear it?"

"You know how I mentioned earlier that we can convert psionic energy to body heat? It hardly costs any power at all. I've kept it on for hours before."

"I don't like where this is going…"

"We can swim across the lake and convert our psionic energy into body heat to keep ourselves from freezing to death," Claus said.

 _I swear,_ Ninten thought. _Does Claus always take the dangerous way out?_

"What?" Claus asked, squinting his eye. "Don't look at me like I'm insane. I was the one who suggested that we go around the lake and avoid this entire mess."

"Okay, that's true," Ninten said. "You're right; let's just go around. We have plenty of food and we can survive for weeks on psychic energy alone. There's no need to risk this crazy plan of yours."

"Aw, come on!" Claus said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I finally suggest a good plan, and you shoot it down just like that? Trust me, this will work."

Ninten snorted.

"Seriously," Claus said. "I've sustained my body heat for four hours straight in a place almost as cold as this. Crossing that lake should take less than an hour. Even if you can't harness as much psionic energy as I can, you'll make it across easily."

"And if I can't?" Ninten asked.

"I'll use some of my energy to create body heat for you," Claus said. "Because I'm just that kind of friend."

"What if you run out too?"

"I won't."

"But what if you do?"

Claus sighed.

"Then we'll both probably develop hypothermia and possibly freeze to death. But that won't happen."

"I won't risk it," Ninten said.

"How about this?" Claus asked. "We try crossing the lake. We start swimming. As a psion, you can approximate how much power a certain action drains from you. If you feel like you can't make it all the way across the lake, we can take the long way around."

Ninten fumbled for a reply. He dreaded so much as dipping a finger in the frigid waters of Lake Tess, but he couldn't find any way to refute Claus' logic.

"I know it's scary," Claus said, his voice growing soft. "But remember, Dr. Andonuts has Dynaldas and Amourus." Claus pulled out a knife with a yellow-jeweled hilt. "I don't know if I've ever shown this this you. This is Phonus, the knife of music."

"Knife of _music?_ " Ninten asked.

"Hey, it's better than the knife of love."

"That's not what I meant," Ninten said. "It just seems familiar… Who crafted these knives in the first place? My dad never bothered to tell me before he slapped Dynaldas in my hand."

"According to Dr. Andonuts, the Osohe made them," Claus said. "But knowing your skepticism, you probably don't believe that the Osohe even existed."

An alien race that lived in the Andromeda Galaxy for eons before finally going extinct about three thousand years ago? The fact that they were depicted like humans even though they would have evolved differently didn't lessen Ninten's skepticism. Still, he knew at least one intelligent person who believed them.

"That's it," Ninten said. "Mars mentioned-"

"Wait. You do know that 'Mars' is Diana Carpainter, right?"

"Yeah. Diana mentioned that the Osohe used three special psionic powers that revealed their priorities as a culture. PK Rockin, PK Starstorm, and PK Love. Knife of music, knife of power, and knife of love. Do you see the connection?"

Claus nodded.

"So… what?" Claus said..

"I'm still working on that part," Ninten said. "But Osohe artifacts are dangerous, especially in the hands of a renowned scientist like Dr. Andonuts."

Claus nodded. He gazed out onto the silent lake in front of them and huffed a sigh.

"I don't think that Dr. Andonuts is totally on his rocker," Claus said. "And considering that each of these knives stores someone's entire cognitive essence, there's a lot of power for him to tap into if he figures out how. It's best if we take them out of his hands quickly. Not that it will do _them_ any good."

Ninten didn't have to ask who _they_ were.

"Who are the victims stuck in Amourus and Phonus?" Ninten asked. "My great-grandmother Mary's essence got sucked into Dynaldas when Emperor George stabbed her… or so the legend goes."

"Right, they have to get stabbed," Claus said. "Not only do those godforsaken weapons suck someone's soul out of them, they add in the extra step of stabbing the poor targets."

Ninten looked at Claus expectantly. Was he going to answer the question?

"I know that a man named Fassad got his psionic essence captured in Phonus," Claus said, holding up the knife to his eye. "Although, he's not really a man. The Osohe Queen created seven immortal beings called magypsies to watch over her subjects. These magypsies may put on appearances of gender, but they're asexual. Or they _were,_ I should say. I doubt any of them survived the bombing on Aphrodite."

"And Fassad was one of these magypsies?" Ninten prompted.

"I know, I know, you don't believe in Osohe myths. But I saw a magypsy with my own eyes. She awakened my psionics; that's how I became a psychic warrior without ever visiting Earth." Claus remained silent for several seconds. "I think that Kumatora was pretty close with them. Lucas would know more."

A month ago, Ninten wouldn't have picked up on Claus' body language. The way that his shoulders slouched ever so slightly. The way that his iris looked like it was about to bleed sorrow. The way that he didn't even shiver when a gust of wind washed over them, chilling Ninten to the bone. It would have all gone over his head.

Now Ninten could see beneath the surface. Thinking about Lucas and his life before hurt him more than he would ever let on.

"It's okay," Ninten said. "I'm sure that Lucas understands."

"What?" Claus asked, snapping back to his senses. "How did you… Well, I guess I'm easier to read than I thought. You're wrong about Lucas, but I didn't even mean to bring him up. Diana called Fassad 'Locria', which is the name of a magypsy. Fassad basically confirmed it with his reaction."

 _Oh no you don't,_ Ninten thought. _You're not steering the conversation away from Lucas, not now._

"Why did you come here to Winters, anyway?" Ninten asked. "Aren't you worried about Lucas? Ness kind of gave away that you were keeping tabs on him in Onett."

"I said that I didn't mean to bring him up," Claus said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Let it go."

Ninten paused. Something about the way that Claus clenched his fists told Ninten that it was in his best interests not to push the topic. Ninten fell silent, taking Claus' earlier example and looking out onto the lake. Silence reigned for several seconds.

"You asked whose psionic essence is stuck in Amourus," Claus said. "It's my mom. Her name was Hinawa. When the starmen attacked, she tried to protect me and Lucas. Tried. Turns out, she didn't do a great job of it. They used telekinesis to pick up Amourus and stab her." Claus made a stabbing motion with Phonus. "The starmen almost killed me anyway. I think they wanted someone with PK Love who could pull the needles and release Giygas."

Since when was PK Love a requirement to pull the needles? And since when did the needles trap psyching _Giygas?_ But Claus asserted his claims so confidently that Ninten didn't bother challenging them.

"Don't you see?" Claus asked. "This is about more than just Dr. Andonuts using those weapons for evil. He took my mom away from me, Ninten. I'm going to get Amourus back. I'm going to get _her_ back. I know that a knife with her essence isn't the same as having her by my side, but…" Claus gulped. "But it's all that I have left of her."

Ninten froze on the spot. What was he supposed to say to _that?_

"I still have this hope," Claus said, "That maybe, just maybe, I can get my family back. Every night, I dream of my mom popping out of Amourus and greeting me like nothing happened. I dream that when Lucas sees her alive and well, he would stop hating me and we would be brothers again. Every… psyching… night."

By now, tears were pouring down Claus' face. He stifled a sob.

"Those dreams worse than the nightmares," Claus continued. "I can _see_ it, Ninten. I can _see_ us as one big happy family again. Mom is cooking omelets again, Lucas is so absorbed in whatever book he's reading that he doesn't notice me making faces at him two feet away, and dad smiles at us instead of threatening to beat us. Is that too much to ask for?"

"I'm sorry, Claus," Ninten said. "I never knew."

"Ah, don't apologize. I know that it's stupid. No matter how much I try, dad will still be dead, his last words cursing me for being born. Mom will still be sucked away into a knife. Lucas will still be an emotionless killing machine. I'm only telling you this so that you understand what I'm about to say."

Claus closed his eye and took a deep breath. After an eternity, his eye flitted back open. He didn't look any less pained.

"That knife," Claus said. "Amourus. It's my last hope. If mom is still with me, even in the form of a knife hidden in my cloak, then I can keep going. I can hold out and believe that Lucas and I might become close again. If mom is still with me, then family isn't quite dead yet." Claus took another deep breath. "That's probably the stupidest thing you've ever heard, but it's how I think. I _need_ that knife back."

"That's not stupid," Ninten said.

Claus snorted.

"Don't try to make me feel better about it," the ginger said, sniffling. "I prefer you as the blunt bastard that you are."

"I'm dead serious," Ninten said.

Claus' eye widened in surprise. As he stared at Ninten, a smile crept onto his face.

"Damn," Claus said. "You have that intense look about you. Now I _know_ that you're telling the truth."

"I understand where you're coming from," Ninten said, ignoring Claus' comment, "Because I feel the same way. Getting Dynaldas back is more than just a hero's quest for me. I don't know if I realized this until now, but I held onto my great-grandmother Mary like you held onto your mom. Unlike you, my parents are still alive, but…"

"Distant?" Claus asked.

"I wish that was the extent of it," Ninten said. "They _hate_ me. So I pretended that I was like her. I thought that we were the same, people who had been betrayed and left for dead. It's a little childish, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. After all, it got me through two years of living in a place where everyone except for my sister Mimmie hated my guts."

"Childish," Claus said, rolling the word around on his tongue. "But aren't we still children? Maybe we're supposed to act this way."

"I don't think so," Ninten said. "But it doesn't really matter what we're supposed to do. We do all that we can. Sometimes, we can't meet basic expectations, but that's okay. We're doing all that we can."

 _I think that might be Ana's problem,_ Ninten thought. _She's so wrapped up in what she should do that she doesn't see what she needs to do to help herself. When I get back from this frozen wasteland, I'll try to help her see that._

"Doing all that I can," Claus repeated. "Huh. I like the sound of that."

"And that's what we're doing," Ninten said. "We're giving it our all. Sure, there might be more important missions out there than tracking down a couple of knives, but we _need_ to do this. So what do you say we swim across that lake and get our lives back?"

"I've never been happier to jump into ice-cold water in my life," Claus said.


	32. Chapter 27: Yazhou

**Happy Monday, everyone! :D**

 **...Okay, I'll say it. Happy 4th of July, my fellow Americans. :)**

 **So, this chapter is more or less setting up for the rest of the fic... the part in Dalaam, at least. We still have to deal with Ninten in Winters and Jeff back on Ceres. So there's not a lot of exciting stuff, but hopefully it will entertain nonetheless.**

 **Also, there's a really weird Ana PoV in the middle of the chapter. It doesn't have too much of a point, but I felt compelled to write it after going through something remotely similar.**

 **So yeah, that's basically it. Time to respond to reviews, I guess. :)**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** I normally discover most of my characters' personality through writing them, so seeing Ninten and Claus become friends was nice for me as well. :) Heh, thanks. But there's more than keeping a character "in character." They also have to be interesting/cool/whatever. Yes, Hinawa's death is supposed to seem like that. After all, Lucas is convinced that Claus killed her, so that doesn't make his claims look super great... but we'll see how it turns out. And Teddy got Dynaldas basically because he's descended from the emperor so he gets access to stuff like that. It wasn't super well thought out haha. Ah, it's good that you enjoyed it. :)

 **PSIBoy:** Heh, I'd be scared of Ana too. At least she's trying to control her impulses, right? I mean, she's doing it in all the wrong ways, but you can't fault her for trying. Or maybe you can. I dunno. Nah, the rebellion in Dalaam hasn't really been mentioned. I hadn't foreshadowed it or anything because I came up with the idea pretty late along the line. Yeah, most people like Maxwell don't have access to psionics-users and therefore don't know a lot about it. And part of it _was_ that he suspected that Ninten and Claus were lying about their powers and wanted proof. Yeah, Maxwell's not going to appear ever again (probably), but I'm glad that he was more interesting than in the games. Considering how minor he is in the game, though, that's not hard to do.

Yeah, Ana, Kumatora, or Poo could get past the gate pretty easily, but Ninten isn't great with psionics and Claus' psionics focus on buffing himself up, which is quite... limited. And yeah, it _is_ kinda like Link needing all those keys, huh? xD Yeah, I didn't really want Tessie to actually appear since this fic is supposed to be realistic (news flash: I don't believe that the Loch Ness Monster is real). Actually, it's not that hard to swim a mile, and it _certainly_ isn't as hard as running a marathon (I would totally swim a mile if I needed to but I would just give up if I had to run a marathon haha). Weighed down by gear and stuff it might be a little harder, but even then... it's not as bad as you might think. And yeah, they can tread water or just swim slowly (which is pretty much equivalent to walking). Yeah, thanks for the review and I hope that you make progress on your fics! :)

 **A Fan:** Yeah, electronics will break if you give them a chance to. And sometimes not even... I yell that my computer(s) more than I like to admit to people haha. Yeah, time will pass over there, but the timelines won't necessarily be completely connected. I'm used to reading books where one PoV is 700 pages behind another PoV in terms of the world's time, so it's not a huge priority for me to make everything align. :)

 **Phoesong:** Hey there. :) Ah, really? Xiyen out of all the OCs. Interesting... He's not that developed compared to others like Diana and Minerva, so I wasn't really expecting that. But I can see why. Yeah, the tricky thing with phrasing is that people see it differently. I can definitely see why you found that awkward, but I could also see why some people would (potentially) like that phrasing (at least more than the rest of my writing haha). The trick is finding the one that a lot of people will like... which is difficult with one person's input. :( Thanks for the heads up, though. :) Ah, I'm glad that you liked the Ninten Claus moment. I was reading back through it and was like "Wow this is way better than I remembered it."

I think sometimes interactions like those come out better when I don't try to plan them out (that was one of the few chapters which wasn't really planned), and I tried it on the most recent chapter I wrote. We'll see if it helps. :x Well, according to the legends, Mary's wife George went insane and stabbed her with the knife. Pleasant, I know. Plot importance? The stabbing itself meh, but Mary will play a larger role than I originally thought... so more than no role at all. xD Claus isn't really the safe type, if you've caught on. ;) Ninten isn't really either; he'll complain and moan about how dangerous something is but that won't stop him from trying it. To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure how I'm going to resolve the grudge between Lucas and Claus. Yeah, it probably wasn't the best move for Ness to leave Lucas alone. Because you're totally right; If Lucas fights with his special sword and armor than he'll lose humanity. He can fight with his regular sword and still be (probably) fine, but better safe than sorry. See you! :)

 **crabbyTomato:** Yeah, that's true. xD Yeah, I can see why Paula would come off that way. It's good for me to hear that; I try not to make my characters irritating if I can. Ah, glad that you liked Maxwell! It was a pretty fun scene to write haha. And I was hoping for Claus' jokes to be so bad that they have some kind of humor value. Heh, Maxwell's coffee stash would indeed be useful... nothing like an addictive drug to rev us up, huh? ;) Geez, that sounds annoying. xD Although video games will do that, yeah. Oh yeah, it's actually not that hard to swim that far. I used to swim longer distances several times a week (with breaks, admittedly). Good swimmers (so not me) can swim a mile in under 20 minutes (although that's usually in a pool where you have walls to push off of every 25 or 50 yards). But basically, yeah. It's not hard at all to swim a mile if you have some practice with swimming. See you! :)

* * *

 _I've finally figured out how to address this enigmatic entity that watches my dreams and follows me around. It told me today that it goes by LOVE._

 _This LOVE is nothing to mess with. It can pull my psionic essence out of my body and speak to my cognitive side alone. Have you ever broken a bone and received the tingling sensation in the back of your mind that your body is falling apart at the seams? Getting your cognitive essence wrenched from your body feels like that but a hundred times worse._

* * *

Starman Jenny perked up as she sensed a human coming its way. Well, "perked up" was a subjectively human term that didn't really apply to starmen. It implied emotion, attentiveness. Starmen's attention never wavered, so they couldn't be described as attentive or inattentive at any given moment.

And of course, none of them could feel emotions.

"Hey, it's Starman Jenny, right?" the human asked.

Jenny tried to look at the human's mental map and found herself blocked by a mind shield. The only frustrating part of using PSI vision was that she couldn't really perceive anyone with a mind shield on. No, that wasn't quite right. She could still perceive their existence, just not their thoughts or personality. Jenny supposed that a human equivalent would be looking at a person with vision so blurry that they couldn't make out any features. Sure, Jenny could tell that a person was there, but no more than that.

"Indeed," Jenny said. "And who are you again?"

"The name's Zanine," the human said. "I am to report to Master Giygas shortly."

Jenny strained and turned on the rest of her physical senses. While starmen didn't experience pride, desire, or illogical aversion, most starmen used their physical senses sparingly due to their ineffectiveness. Even hearing, which came through relatively clearly for Jenny, was usually not used when conversing between starmen.

Using vision, Jenny could make out a shawl that cloaked the person almost entirely, revealing only a tan-colored face. Jenny couldn't tell for sure, but she figured that this "Zanine" was a woman.

"Perhaps I do not understand you, human," Jenny said. "If you are to meet with Master Giygas, then why speak to me?"

"Because I have something to ask you," Zanine said. "The news that I bring to him is not what he will want to hear. Is he the cruel type to punish messengers?"

Jenny picked something up in Zanine's voice. Urgency, perhaps? Given Jenny's limited experience of hands-on interaction with humans, she couldn't tell for sure.

"You do not understand Master Giygas," Jenny said. "He does not 'want' to hear anything. Unlike your human leaders, he has no pride or self-confidence. No biases or stubborn streaks. He is perfectly logical in every fashion."

"And a logical being will wish to hear what I have to say," Zanine said. "The Osohe girl that he is after isn't in Dalaam. She's in my country, Scaraba."

Jenny felt Giygas' presence set upon them. He never announced its presence, nor did he travel with guards or underlings. That was not the Starman way. Zanine gasped, likely viewing Giygas with her inferior physical senses. Jenny turned her physical vision off so that she could behold Giygas in all of its complexity. Looking into the psionic map that made up the ruler of starmen, Jenny felt herself get lost staring at all of the nuts and bolts that made up Giygas.

"Master Giygas," Zanine said. "Please forgive me. I did not sense your presence."

"FORGIVENESS COMES FROM HUMANS," Giygas boomed, speaking telepathically. "YOU SHALL FIND NEITHER HATE NOR LOVE HERE."

"Of course," Zanine said hastily.

"I HEARD YOU SPEAKING TO STARMAN 100101011011. I THANK YOU FOR THIS VALUABLE INFORMATION."

Giygas' words were partly a lie. Similar to the starmen, Giygas couldn't feel anything at all, so gratitude was off the table (that _was_ a valid figure of speech, right?). But with the painfully limited Eagleish language, Giygas could do no better.

"Of course, Master Giygas," Zanine said. "I am at your service. Do you plan to move your starmen over to Scaraba to search for the Osohe girl?"

"NO. THERE IS ANOTHER IN DALAAM. I SHALL PULL HIS STRINGS LIKE ONE OF YOUR HUMAN-CRAFTED PUPPETS. WHEN I ATTACK, THE PIECES WILL FALL INTO THEIR PLACES. HE SHALL BE MINE."

This was news to Starman Jenny. Who else would Giygas care about besides the last Osohe?

"Is it the wanderer?" Jenny asked in the starman language. "The huntress?"

"NOT HER. NOT HER SISTER. ANOTHER."

But that made even less sense. Other than the Osohe child, Diana and Minerva Carpainter were the only ones left who had connections to Giygas.

"DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH HIM," Giygas said. "THE ATTACK ON YAZHOU BEGINS NOW. I EXPECT TO SEE THE CITY COVERED WITH INNARDS FROM BOTH HUMANS AND STARMEN."

Jenny nodded. Unlike humans, she couldn't feel revulsion, fear, or sorrow. She gave the potential death of her brethren a passing thought before moving on.

"I SHALL BRING DALAAM TO ITS KNEES," Giygas said. "THAT IS THE ONLY WAY TO IMPOSE ORDER."

* * *

Ness soon learned that despite all of his smiles and jokes, Xiyen wasn't afraid to take charge. He led Ness and Ana over to the town hall where the Revivalists kept their prisoners, nearly skipping with excitement. Ness watched the Dalaamian teenager, startled at Xiyen's expressive nature. He pictured most Dalaamians as quiet and respectful. While bitter, Poo put on a polite face every time that he talked to Ness. Xiyen cared little for proper behavior.

It didn't take long to free the prisoners from the town hall. Ana scared away the remaining guards with psionics and unbarred all of the doors. Men and women came streaming out, including Xiyen's mother. After a heartwarming reunion involving tears and hugs, Xiyen lead Ness and Ana into another room to discuss their plans. Ness barely had time to marvel at a scroll on the wall depicting rice farmers before Xiyen started speaking.

"I don't think that the Revivalists will come back anytime soon," Xiyen said. "They do not wish to mess with your Ceresian witchcraft."

"That's good for us," Ana said. "We want to head to Yazhou. Apparently, starmen are massing near that area?"

"You believe in that stuff?" Xiyen asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were a skeptic."

"Skepticism can be overturned by facts," Ana said. "Starmen attacked our school on Ceres a couple months ago."

Xiyen grunted.

"I guess if you saw them with your own eyes…" the Dalaamian cocked his head. "What do you plan to do in Yazhou? The royal courts are even more xenophobic and proud than the rest of the country. Nobody will accept the help of a few teenagers with big egos."

"I assume you speak from personal experience?" Ana asked, the corners of her lips twitching upwards.

"My ego isn't _that_ big, Ana. But yes, they hate me and would rather die than let me help them."

"That's pretty extreme," Ness said.

"My people are not known for our warmth and acceptance," Xiyen said with a snort. "Even when you freed the prisoners, you saw how they treated you. Fear. Disdain. They watched you with judging eyes, even though you saved them."

So Ness wasn't just imagining it. Most Dalaamains reacted adversely to foreigners, even those not part of the Revivalist group.

"When you put those attributes into a room of stuffy nobles," Xiyen said. "God have mercy on you if you ever have to deal with them."

"The people who shot us strange looks are the Jeffs and Tonys of Dalaamian society," Ana said. "Their behavior isn't particularly hostile; they only act in the way that society tells them. Now, if those people are the norm, imagine the Dalaamian equivalents of the Minches or Monotolis."

Ness shuddered. He had always pictured Dalaam as a mythical land of philosophers and sages, but now it sounded an even more extreme version of Ceres.

"Back to the point," Xiyen said. "What do you plan to do, Ana? Everyone in Yazhou already hates you."

"Really?" Ness asked. "What did you do?"

"Visited," Ana said. "It was years ago with my parents. The Dalaamians saw my family as people who wanted to destroy culture and corrupt youth with new technology. But I think that Minerva and my parents will be in Yazhou. I can meet up with them."

"Still," Xiyen said. "I don't think that you fully understand how we Dalaamians view age. If you're young, you stand silently and take orders from your elders. Teenagers like you trying to make your own decisions about war is more than bold; it's practically blasphemy."

"Still," Ness said. "We need to try."

"Why?" Xiyen asked. "What's Dalaam to you?"

Ness inhaled sharply. Xiyen's words lacked any malice or judgment, but Ness couldn't stand when people asked him why he wanted to help. He just… did.

"The starmen are a major threat to Dalaam, whether you realize it or not," Ana said. "We won't put innocents in danger just because they're from a foreign country."

"That… is an interesting way of looking at things." Xiyen cocked his head. "Your words made sense, but most Dalaamians would not share your opinion. Here, we put family first and country second. All else goes into the back burner."

"We want you to join us," Ana said. "If your duty is to your country, you can't ignore the starmen threat."

"Actually, I heard multiple Revivalists say that they were going to attack Yazhou soon," Xiyen said. "No offense, but I fear an extremist group more than aliens from children's tales."

"So you'll come with us?" Ana asked.

"Of course," Xiyen said. "After all, we both know that you're helpless without me."

Xiyen smiled and Ana rolled her eyes.

"In all seriousness," Xiyen said. "I know Yazhou like… What do you Eagleish say? Like the back of your hands?"

"Yes," Ana said. "We do say that."

"Silly comparison." Xiyen wrinkled his nose. "Who studies the back of their hand so well that they can picture it easily? The point is that I know my way around Yazhou. I might actually be useful to you."

"That would be a first," Ana muttered.

"Will your mom be okay if you leave soon?" Ness asked. "We need to get to Yazhou as quickly as possible."

"Should work," Xiyen said. "She always wanted me to go off and do important things, so I can't see her complaining. Even if she's a little shaken from her experience as a prisoner, her pride will force her to keep up appearances."

"And you're okay with that?" Ness asked, letting judgment seep into his voice. "Even if she's dying to see you leave, you won't worry about it if she just _pretends_ that it's okay?"

"I'm as okay with it as I need to be," Xiyen said. "I know my mom. If I try to argue with her, it will just make her more stubborn. Once someone tells her that I'm going off to Yazhou to fight in the war, no force known to humankind will stop her from making that a reality."

Well, if Xiyen was sure about that assertion then there really _wasn't_ a whole lot that either of them could do. Ness nodded in concession; Xiyen's face brightened.

"It's settled, then?" Xiyen asked. "Excellent. Let us head to Yazhou."

While Xiyen explained the plan to his mother, Ness and Ana gathered up Paula and Lucas. Paula led the Dalaamian boy that had given them information around until they found his parents (who were too grateful to shoot strange looks at Ness and his fellow foreigners). Lucas dragged the knocked out Revivalist soldier over to the town hall, where Ana handed him over to the officials. Xiyen shot a dark look at the unconscious Revivalist.

"That soldier was an…" Xiyen paused. "What do you Eagleish say? Asshole? Yes, he was an asshole. Not particularly abusive towards the prisoners, but an asshole all the same."

Xiyen introduced himself to Paula and Lucas, although he seemed more… enthusiastic to introduce himself to Paula. Ness wondered if that was part of Dalaamian culture, or if there was something going on between the lines.

Ness decided to give Xiyen the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it was Lucas' deadpan exterior that turned Xiyen off. Indeed, the former savant looked at Xiyen with glassy eyes, not even pretending to care about formalities.

"Now that the boring stuff's over," Xiyen said. "We're all ready to go, yes? My mother made me pack food, but she didn't put up any more resistance than that. Actually, she strongly encouraged me to go and make a name for myself as a warrior."

"Of course," Ana said. "She wants to be the mother of a war hero. Think of all the people that she could brag to."

Ness looked around to make sure that Xiyen's mother wasn't nearby. He still wasn't comfortable with criticizing someone, even behind their backs.

"I think it's the guilt," Paula said. "I talked a little more with Qiang, and this village doesn't give people many opportunities to do great things. Xiyen's mom must know that this could be the only chance to give her son a life beyond this village."

 _Qiang?_ Ness thought. _She must mean the boy from earlier._

"Perhaps a bit of both," Xiyen said with a shrug. "But our wishes align, so what does it matter?"

It mattered little, everyone except Ness agreed. After that, Ana moved onto outlining her plan: what towns they would stop at, how long they needed to stay in each one to let their bodies acclimate to the height. Xiyen yawned several times while Ana explained the logistics of her plan, some so loudly that Ness couldn't help but think that he was trying to get a rise out of Ana. Either way, she ignored him.

* * *

Ness spent an uneventful couple of days getting teleported from town to town. Ana handled most of the practical affairs: making sure that they had enough food and water to keep them comfortable and finding places to rest. Surprisingly, Xiyen knew next to nothing about the towns that Ana brought them to.

When Ana prompted him as to why, Xiyen pretended to get offended and said in an exaggerated Dalaamian accent, "Such racism! I would not expect someone from Fourside to know their way around Twoson; why do you assume that I know all of Dalaam?"

Even though Xiyen was joking and likely making fun of people who would actually see such a question as racist, Ness couldn't help but feel ashamed for wondering the same thing.

Nevertheless, Xiyen became the face of their group. Even in Dalaam, everyone liked a jokester, and Xiyen's charming attitude distracted wary eyes away from the foreigners standing right behind him. Xiyen could also play the lute, netting them free meals and rooms at local inns. Xiyen explained that Dalaamian inns were mostly for the poor, leading to generally poor quality of food and room. Still, Ness was grateful to sleep in a bed at all.

During their travels, Xiyen took more and more interest in Paula. It was enough to make Ness suspect a romantic motive. Yes, Xiyen was friendly and chatty with pretty much everyone. Yes, he didn't have many other people to talk to. But he paid more attention to her than anyone else in the group. The next morning, Ness confronted Ana about the topic.

"Don't worry about it," Ana said, waving her hand in dismissal. "Xiyen's the biggest flirt in all of Dalaam. It's nothing serious."

That didn't make Ness feel any better.

"Besides, I think that Paula kind of likes it," Ana continued. "Not the possible romantic motive, but just the social aspect. I mean, Xiyen's a pretty fun guy. But he also has a good heart and he respects everyone, if not in the way that satisfy his elders." Ana's lips twisted into a thin smile. "If Paula wants him to stop, she can tell him."

"But I'm afraid that Paula will be too shy to tell him if she feels that way," Ness said.

"Then she'll come to us for advice, and we can tell Xiyen for her," Ana said. "I'm not afraid to do that. But as of now, I don't see a problem."

Ness was forced to agree that Ana wasn't right. He didn't want to force Paula or Xiyen to do anything, especially when it really wasn't any of his business. Still, he couldn't help but worry. After all, shouldn't her thoughts be on Ninten? Then again, if Ninten saw what was probably going on between Paula and Xiyen, he wouldn't even care. Well, he might care in that he would be happy for Paula to have a friend to talk to, but no more than that. He would trust Paula enough not to let her friendship with Xiyen turn into something else, so Ness could do the same.

Ness continued to keep his mouth shut as they teleported from town to town. After two days, they eventually reached Yazhou.

The first thing that Ness noticed about Yazhou was how warm it was. As they had ascended the mountain, Ness had gotten used to wearing warmer and warmer clothing. But here at the mountain's peak, Ness could walk around with a shirt and trousers without feeling the wind nipping at his skin.

"Apparently," Ana said, taking off her coat. "There's a mysterious force known as the 'Pink Cloud' that keeps this entire place warm. Feels nice, doesn't it?"

The second thing that Ness noticed was the relative lack of bustling through the city. When Ness pictured Dalaam's capital, he assumed that it would be a thriving metropolis. Maybe all of the western technology wouldn't be there, but he thought that the urban spirit would be. Looking at Yazhou now, Ness found it even more rural than Onett. People lived in simple dwellings; buildings were scattered so thinly that there weren't even pathways skinny enough to call roads. Ness spotted no market stalls or merchants.

"For those of you wondering," Xiyen said. "There are bigger and more advanced cities in Dalaam. Yazhou prides itself on following the traditional way. Little money changes hands in this city."

The third thing that Ness noticed was the palace in the distance. It shone bright gold, standing out from all of the dull houses in the foreground. At the entrance stood two giant elephant statues, sitting in what looked like a meditative position.

Even from the distance, Ness could make out the level of detail that went into making the statues. Wrinkles on the legs. Tusks that looked like real ivory. And the way that the golden palace was plastered against the deep blue sky light a second sun…

"It's beautiful," Ness whispered.

* * *

It _was_ beautiful, Ana decided. In fact, it looked even more beautiful than she remembered it. She looked into Ness' wonder-filled eyes and wistful smile.

If only she could see the world like that.

When Ana looked at the palace, she saw the gold and the bronze. She saw the shimmer and the gleam. She saw mechanical beauty.

Not wonder. Not awe.

Ana remembered gazing at the palace three years ago when she visited Yazhou with her parents. It had been before she learned psionics. It had been before her life started to fall apart. Ana had gazed upon the palace with the same way that Ness did. It was breathtaking.

Now when she looked at it, she could only feel a twinge of self-hatred for her apathy.

How could she explain it? When she viewed the palace, she saw what everyone else did. Marvelous gold. Glistening bronze. But it didn't pop out at her; it didn't speak to her through gentle breezes. When Ana first saw the palace years ago, it lifted her spirits. It made her smile. Her heart pounded with vigor. It was almost as if the palace were lending her some of its life, some of its vibrance.

Now, that connection was severed. To her, the palace was just an object. Beautiful? Ana supposed so. But that beauty meant nothing to her.

 _This is the state that I've fallen to,_ she thought. _I'm probably looking at one of the most striking buildings in the entire universe, and I can't feel anything._

And it was more than just that. When Ana tried to reach into her mind to find a morsel of happiness, she found herself blocked by a barrier heavier than concrete. She wouldn't feel joy today. That realization made her want to cry, but she couldn't muster up enough sadness to let her tears flow. Was she forever destined to live in limbo, feeling neither joy nor sorrow, neither love nor hate?

No, she could still feel hate. She could still loathe herself for her pathetic existence, for the mask that she put on when she smiled to the world. But that was the thing about pretending. At some point, the mask would meld into her face and she would become the perfect girl that everyone saw in her. She would still suffocate on the inside; she would only lose track of the shattered pieces in her head that made up her true self.

 _Stop it,_ Ana told herself. _You're moping again. Most children on Vulcan die before they reach adulthood. Compared to that, my worries about my own insincerity are meaningless._

Meaningless. Yes, they were meaningless. So why couldn't she get over them like a normal person? She took another look into Ness' eyes. So innocent, so genuine. Was that what drove her towards him? She knew it wasn't love that made her want to care for him. Did she want to preserve that innocence, hold onto it like the last bit of rope that kept her from falling into the abyss? Did she want to save him so that he would never have to turn into someone like her, someone jaded beyond repair? Yes, Ana supposed that was it.

 _I'm sorry, Ness,_ she thought. _This has all been one elaborate lie. I can't be the girl who you think I am._

* * *

"So," Ness heard Paula say. "Where do we go now? I see houses stretching down the mountainside for miles."

"Minerva and my parents are probably meeting with the Dalaamian King in the palace," Ana said. "The question is how we're going to get in."

"Could Xiyen help us?" Lucas asked, his voice monotone.

"I can help my countrymen overlook your race," Xiyen said. "But get into the _palace?_ Not in my lifetime. Everyone here hates me."

"Why?" Ness asked.

"Because of my parentage," Xiyen said. "I'm a bastard."

"Um… okay."

"Ness, I think that he means that he's an illegitimate child," Paula said.

"However you Eaglish say it." Xiyen shrugged. "My parents aren't married. That's why I never mention my dad. But speaking of which…" Xiyen turned to Ana. "How's my brother doing in your Ceresian school? I'm surprised that he didn't come home for break, honestly."

"Your brother?" Paula asked. "You don't mean… Poo, do you?"

"Is there another Dalaamian in your school system that I'm not aware of?" Xiyen asked.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Ana said. "Xiyen's father is the king of Dalaam."

"You just _forgot_ to mention that?" Paula asked. "That seems like a pretty big detail to forget."

Ness recalled that Xiyen introduced himself as Poo's half-brother, but Paula wasn't there when he shot down the cavaliers and scared the rest away. He supposed that she never got the memo.

"Everyone here hates me for it and it's hilarious," Xiyen said. "Because they know that they're supposed to treat me with a _little_ respect because my father's the king, but they're so ashamed that he had an illegitimate child that they also want to treat me like filth."

"See?" Ana said. "With Xiyen's attitude, his noble lineage is pretty easy to forget."

"Did we ever figure out a way to get into the palace?" Lucas asked.

The rest of the group exchanged awkward glances.

"I could try just going up and saying that I'm with my parents," Ana said. "Although I don't think that I could bring you guys in. Maybe Ness, since my parents know him."

"Eh, that's okay," Xiyen said. "Maybe I could take Paula for a tour around this place since I've actually been here before. There's a really cool rock formation that looks almost like a pillar. There's a ladder that you can climb up and the view's _amazing_ from the top. Are you scared of heights?"

"Um… a little," Paula said, blushing furiously.

"Besides," Ana said. "That natural pillar is supposed to be used for Mu training."

"Eh, people piss off of it all the time as a prank," Xiyen said. "It really annoys the elders."

"Was _that_ why you got kicked out of Yazhou?" Ana asked.

"No, that was because I got to the age where it was no longer cute for my father to acknowledge my existence. But don't worry, there are a bunch of cool places on the west side of Yazhou that I can take you. Not all of this city is so… simple."

"I don't really mind simple," Paula said. "And thank you."

"Do you want to take Lucas with you?" Ness asked.

"Sure, if he wants to come." Xiyen smiled at Lucas. "What about it, big guy?"

Lucas nodded. Xiyen's smile widened. Lucas' inclusion made Ness feel far better about Xiyen's interest in Paula.

Ness and Ana parted ways from the rest of the group, heading up to the Dalaamian palace. Once Ness got closer, the palace looked even _more_ breathtaking. The elephant statues looked larger than actual elephants; Ness had to crane his neck to look at their faces.

"So," Ana said. "Time to approach the guards, I guess."

Before Ness had time to reply, Megan Aniah came storming out of the palace. The guards stepped out of her way a second before she would have plowed into them. When she looked at Ana and Ness, her eyes lit up.

"Ana!" she exclaimed. "I sensed a couple psions out here, but I didn't think that it would be _you._ "

"Hi, mom," Ana said sheepishly.

"Oh it's so nice to see you!" Megan paused. "I would hug you right now, even in front of your boyfriend, but these Dalaamians apparently consider such affection to be crude."

"Thank goodness for Dalaam, then."

Megan rolled her eyes. As she turned to Ness, her smile popped right back onto her face.

"And how are you doing? I hope that Ana hasn't been too hard on you."

"Mom!" Ana protested. "Don't say stuff like that!"

"Um…" Ness said.

"Ana's that bad, huh?" Megan asked.

"No, it's not that!" Ness said. "Really, she's amazing and wonderful and all that. Really."

"I'm just teasing," Megan said. After a second, her face turned dark. "But I need to deal with something serious right now. I'll talk to you two later, all right?"

"What are you doing, mom?" Ana asked.

"There's a group called the Revivalists trying to overthrow the Dalaamian government. They claim to fight for-"

"We know all about them," Ana said. "What are they doing?"

"They're positioned to attack the east side of Yazhou, but some people spotted a small group of Revivalists poised to strike the west side. General Kim thinks that it's a diversion and refuses to send troops over there, so I'm going over there in case they try anything funny. Your father's already in position."

"The west side…" Ness said. "Isn't that where Xiyen took Paula?"

"Yeah," Ana said, gritting her teeth. "Mom, we need to come with you. Some of our friends might be in danger. And even if they weren't, we both want to prevent this rebellion as much as you do."

Ness nodded. He remembered how the Revivalists took hold of Xiyen's town and took all of the women hostage. He couldn't imagine that they would treat Dalaam's capital any more kindly.

"How much _do_ I want to stop the rebellion, though?" Megan asked. "Sometimes, I wonder if we're just fighting the Revivalists because of political reasons, not moral ones."

"They're monsters," Ana said. "And the ones that aren't monsters are basically brainwashed. Look at Yazhou. Who in their right mind would think that this place needs to be _more_ traditional? What Dalaam needs is to stop being so scared of progress."

"You might think that, but I'm not sure if 'progress' really helps us." Megan paused. "Still, I'll stop the coup and think about the consequences later. I don't suppose that I could convince you two to stay behind where it's safe?"

"Not a chance!" Ana said.

"And you, Ness?" Megan asked. "Do you want to fight too?"

"Yes," Ness said, surprised at how firm his voice sounded. "I've seen what these Revivalists do. I don't want to let them hurt anyone else."

Megan sighed.

"I had a feeling that you were going to say that. It makes me sad how easily both of you accept the Ceresian rhetoric that psions are weapons first and people second. I wish that psions were trained to be more than soldiers."

"I don't think that way," Ness whispered. "I just don't want anyone else to die. I've already let so many people down."

"I… see," Megan said. "I wish that I could go through those emotions with you, but we don't have more time to talk. The Revivalists could attack any minute, even a small band of them on the west side. Are you ready?"

Ana and Ness both nodded.

"Teleport," Megan said, taking a deep breath.

As the world phased out of existence, Ness closed his eyes and hoped that Paula and Lucas would stay safe.


	33. Chapter 28: Sacrifice

**Hey, everyone! Happy Friday! :) How's Pokemon Go? It's already filled up my social media feed, so I couldn't hide from it if I tried haha.**

 **Okay, about on Monday... I live in the pacific time zone, so it was still Monday for me when the chapter came out. Unless something goes terribly wrong between writing this and posting, this will be Friday for everyone in the US, though, so yey.**

 **So yeah, this is where the last act of this fic really starts. We've still got a ways to go, so hopefully you guys are strapped in for the ride. :)**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Heh, I do suck at writing romance. It's natural because I've never been in a romantic relationship before. Although I've heard that buddy cop movies basically do the same thing that romance movies do, so maybe some of the skills from writing general character interaction translate over to romance. Yep, Gigyas is after someone in Dalaam... sure, I'll go ahead and say that it's either Lucas or Ness. ;) Huh, that's interesting since compared to most fantasy I read my protags and supporting characters are quite a bit like good samaritans. Sure, they all have flaws, but Ness, Ninten, and Jeff genuinely want to make the world a better place along with others like Ana and Diana. I guess my view might be skewed since it's the cool thing in fantasy to make your main characters kinda crappy people. But yeah, I do try to make both sides of large conflicts appear as unsavory to keep things interesting. :)

Yeah, my favorite fantasy stories tend to have realistic aspects to them (I barely managed to get through Lord of the Rings because of how nothing tied back into the real world). But really, this idea of more realistic fantasy isn't my idea. Many contemporary fantasy novels depict cultures similar to our own in lots of ways. Plot armor _is_ the strongest armor, no? ;) I can't make promises about Xiyen, though. Or any character, for that matter.

 **DarkFoxKit:** Yeah, literal explosions of humans tend to be bad. Although my brother told me a while ago that it's possible for a human to spontaneously combust if they're drunk enough. It seems surreal. O.O This chapter is a Ness/Lucas PoV since there's more stuff going on in Dalaam. The end part to this fic isn't super elegant and all of the three main characters are to remain separated, but the most stuff happens in Dalaam. It's going to be a while until we get back to Ninten and Claus.

 **crabbyTomato:** Heh, I can relate. I'm in decent shape, but I'm one of the least athletic people I know. I think that a lot of people were confused by that... I guess swimming competitively for years makes me see a mile as nothing (in the original draft, it was 3 or 4 miles but I was like "Okay, it might take Ninten and Claus too long to swim that far since their swimming skills probably aren't super honed). Yeah, I liked Jenny's character so she's going to continue to play a role in this story. :) The Scaraba thing is to mostly set up for next fic, where the first part will take place mostly in Scaraba.

Ah, I have little experience with Asian culture, so I wouldn't really know. But I figured that it would be kind of haughty considering that it's been isolated for so long and Asian culture lends itself to that kind of stuff (at least, from what I've heard). Yes, Dalaam is about to be in for a little shock when the starmen appear. It won't be pretty. :( I guess I'll say right now that a lot of Ana's issues are going to be unresolved by the end of this fic, so don't count on her getting over her troubles anytime soon. And we'll see about your hunch. ;) See you!

* * *

 _When this "LOVE" speaks, I can sense an ancient power tingling within it._

 _It almost makes me wonder if LOVE is some sort of god. But I will never believe in any religion ever again. Call me biased and you couldn't be more right; I was burned too badly by my father's cult to give religion a second chance._

 _So I will settle by drawing the conjecture that LOVE is an entity similar to Giygas. Could there be, possibly, more than one of Giygas' race?_

 _Or maybe I'm just insane and none of this is real. That wouldn't surprise me in the slightest._

* * *

Ness appeared on a ledge several feet above the mountainside below. He looked down at the grass over the face of the cliff and felt his stomach start to toss and turn. As if he didn't have enough fears, heights made Ness uneasy as well.

"Megan!" came the voice of Ana's father. "The Dalaamian rebels started their attack already."

"What?" Megan asked, her eyes growing murderous. "But there were only a few…"

Ness looked along the edge of the cliff, spotting a break in the rocky shelf that could be used to enter Yazhou from below. Masses of soldiers, all wearing red, marched towards the lone entrance to the Dalaamian capital.

"Psych psych _psych,_ " Megan said. "They even have cavalry! How did they manage to get psyching _horses_ up the mountainside?"

"They didn't," Ana said. "The starmen teleported the horses in."

"You're sure?" Adam Aniah asked.

"Do you have any other ideas, dad?" Ana asked.

"No, your theory makes the most sense." Adam's face darkened. "That must be how they got so many Dalaamian soldiers over to the western entrance. They weren't hiding; starman teleported them over here from their main camp."

"It was a diversion all along," Megan said. "Just not in the way that See-Yoon _psyching_ Kim expected."

See-Yoon Kim? That must be the Dalaamian war leader. Ness made a mental note of the man's name.

"Megan," Adam said. "Did General Kim send _any_ soldiers over here to help us?"

"No." Megan balled her hands into fists and scowled. "So what are we going to do? There are _thousands_ of armed rebels down there! I'm hitting roadblocks no matter which direction I take my ideas in."

"Maybe they'll take Yazhou peacefully?" Ness said.

"Unfortunately not," Adam said. "These 'Revivalists' have been known to rape and pillage. Don't ask me how that fits into their argument about tradition and purity."

"Rape is traditional, all right," Ana muttered. "Back when people were savages, that sort of thing wasn't as scorned as it is now."

"Fewer complaints, more ideas," Megan said. "Could we head down there and stop them ourselves?"

"As four psions?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? It's not stupid." Megan paced back and forth. "Think about it. The entrance is skinny enough for a small group of psions to guard a choke point."

"Except the rebels would rush right over us," Adam said. "I read the reports. The sight of a Ceresian 'witch' sends them into a blind rage."

"And of course, when one of them loses all control…" Ness said.

"The others follow," Adam finished. "Mob mentality. With their cavalry, they'll stampede us and loot the city regardless. At that point, the battle is lost no matter how many of them we can kill."

"So what do we do?" Ana asked.

What _could_ they do? How could they face a group of people with so much hatred split between them? Ness had no idea…

 _A city of grime and filth on an industrial planet. A ring of cultists surrounding a pile of corpses in front of an empty astroport. And in the center stood a small boy. One boy against the universe._

Ness clutched his head in pain. Why did these flashbacks always happen at the worst times? He lived through Mr. Carpainter's death traps once; he didn't need to _relive_ them every month.

 _All of the sudden, the boy was not alone. A silver-haired woman with stocky limbs shouted to the ring of cultists, shouted to the psionic plane for help._

 _Slowly, the corpses on the ground started to rise._

Ness and Diana Carpainter had held an army back before, but they did so with an army of zombies at their lead. Without such an advantage, how could four psions hold back an army that looked far more skilled than Mr. Carpainter's cultists?

Maybe… maybe they could still use an army. It just didn't need to contain any zombies.

"Um," Ness said. "Could you maybe summon some ectoplasmic warriors to cut off the choke point?"

Megan and Adam Aniah exchanged a glance.

"That's actually a pretty good idea," Megan said.

"What do you mean 'actually'?" Ana asked. "Did you expect my boyfriend to toss out plans as bad as yours?"

"Honestly, yeah." Megan turned back to her husband. "Adam, do you sense any glaring weaknesses in Ness' plan?"

 _Probably,_ Ness thought. _After all, you can't spell "weakness" without "Ness."_

"Sounds good to me," Adam said. "Since I'm probably the best at summoning ectoplasm out of us four, I'll make the army."

"And I'll lend you my power," Megan said.

 _Um, what?_ Ness thought.

"Basically," Adam said, catching Ness' confused look, "She's letting me draw on her reservoir of psionic energy to let me summon more soldiers. Since I can harness the power more efficiently, it's best if I take it all."

"But don't go around offering for people to use up all of your psionic energy, you hear?" Megan said. "Another psion drawing on your power could easily run your reserves dry and cause you to overchannel."

Well, overchanneling was one aspect of psionics that Ness knew to avoid. Ana had spent multiple days in bed rest after drawing too much energy to heal Kumatora a few months ago.

"Yeah, most psions don't trust each other enough for something like that," Ana said, "Especially since it gives the psion who's drawing on the energy a lot of power over the other psion. But since my parents have been happily married for 16 years…"

"Right, we're special," Megan said. "Are you two going to head over to the entrance and fight with the soldiers that Adam creates?"

"Of course!" Ana said.

"And we can't convince you to stay here and blast psionics at the rebels from a safe distance?" Adam asked.

"Sorry," Ness said. "I think we'll do better if we can get a good view of them."

"Why did I know that you two were going to say that?" Megan asked. "Well, try your damndest _not_ to die out there, all right? You kids are too young to fight in these kinds of battles anyway."

"We'll keep that in mind," Ana said dryly. "Teleport."

* * *

Ness appeared behind a legion of ectoplasmsic warriors in the mountain's narrow pass. The thundering of hooves and battle cries from the Dalaamian rebels put him right in the frantic atmosphere of battle. Looking at Ana's serene face, Ness managed to lower his heart rate by a couple of notches.

"You ready for this?" Ana asked. "Can you find it in yourself to kill another human being?"

"No," Ness said. "I promised myself that I would never kill anyone ever again."

"Again?"

Ness closed his eyes. Now wasn't the time to bring up old memories.

"I can still help," Ness said. "My PK Rockin can disrupt people's balance."

"Do you know any other psychokinetic powers?"

"Sorry." Ness grimaced. "We didn't really learn how to actually fight with psionics on Ceres. I know how to move my hands and manifest various powers, but performing them in battle isn't the same."

"I understand." Ana set a hand on Ness' shoulder. "Just yell if you need me to teleport you out."

Ness nodded, turning back to the horde of Dalaamian soldiers. Their enraged screams reminded Ness of Carpainter's cultist crowds back on Vulcan. Ness barely managed to keep his lunch down.

"PK Fire," Ana said, creating a wall of flames that stretched across the entire entrance.

Through the distorted air that surrounded the flames, Ness made out the Dalaamian soldiers halting. After a second, their faces turned angrier and their screams grew louder, a feat that Ness had thought impossible just moments earlier. Without further hesitation, the legion of Dalaamian rebels charged right through the flames and into the narrow pass.

"Damn," Ana said. "They're not scared of anything."

 _No,_ Ness thought. _They're terrified of us. That's why they want to kill us so badly. Just like…_

In his mind, Ness pictured an army of lifeless bodies cutting through the flesh of living humans. Had fear pushed him to kill so many of Carpainter's cultists on that one fateful day? If so, could he really blame the Dalaamian rebels for wanting him dead?

 _Always second guessing myself,_ Ness thought. _I need to focus._

The first wave of Dalaamian soldiers charged into the files of ectoplasmic warriors. The rebels hacked wildly, devoting no energy on defense. Most of them managed to slice apart an ectoplasmic soldier before they went down. Fortunately for Ness and Ana, the pass was narrow enough that the entire legion couldn't fit at once.

Ana continued to fire psychokinetic powers at the rebels while Ness used PK Rockin to disrupt their balance systems. For every rebel who tripped and fell, Ness felt guilty. For every tripped rebel who got an ectoplasmic warrior's spear stuck in his chest, Ness felt guiltier.

Ness wasn't killing anyone directly, but his actions resulted in their death nonetheless. Did it really matter who held the knife?

 _Yes,_ Ness thought. _There's a difference between giving someone the opportunity to kill and ending a life by myself. I have to believe that._

So Ness continued to trip rebels with PK Rockin while Ana fired lasers and called fire from the earth. The Dalaamian soldiers kept on coming. Not one of them hesitated before charging at the ectoplasmic warriors and throwing themselves into a certain death.

 _Why don't they run?_ Ness thought. _Why are they making us kill them like this?_

But he knew the answer better than anyone. The people who faced their fears and fought were the people who were tired of running away.

 _But they're facing their fears in the wrong way,_ Ness thought. _Even if they kill every last psion in the universe, they won't be satisfied. Killing the cultists that terrified me didn't make me any less afraid._

Ness wanted so badly to tell them that. But since he knew that they wouldn't listen, he used PK Rockin to trip them and seal their deaths instead.

After the third wave, the line of ectoplasmic warriors started to weaken. Ana's explosive powers lessened in intensity; Ness assumed that she was running low on psychic energy. After a couple more waves, the line of ectoplasmic warriors broke entirely. Rebels came streaming through a gap in the ectoplasmic warriors' formation, most of them charging towards Ana. However, a lone cavalier charged towards Ness, an oriental-style sword in his hand. Ness yelped and used PK Rockin, causing the horse to stumble and trip.

The cavalier flew off his horse, landing flat on the ground. He managed to stand up even with his impaired balance. He shot a murderous look at Ness.

"You," he said, his Eagleish heavily accented. "You are a witch too!"

He stumbled towards Ness, swinging his sword wildly. He tripped and fell to the ground after a few steps, suffering from reduced balance due to Ness' PK Rockin.

"I will kill you!" the rebel shouted, getting onto his knees and crawling forward. "I… will… kill… you."

"Give it up," Ness said as confidently as he could. "Leave. I don't want to hurt you."

"I'll kill you!"

The rebel lunged forward, landing several feet away from Ness. Would this man ever quit? When his horse collapsed beneath him, he walked. When he couldn't walk, he crawled.

"Never give up," the rebel said, collapsing on the ground. "Never surrender."

Even though he was too disoriented to crawl on his hands and knees, the rebel shuffled forward on the ground with his arms and legs in a style that the Eagleish called "army-crawl."

"Why do you hate us?" Ness asked. "Please, I don't want to hurt you!"

"Witch." the rebel pulled himself forward with his arms. "You will pay."

"Please!" Ness said. "We're not bad people! Why can't you see that!"

"Lies. All… lies."

Why couldn't they open their eyes and see the truth? Why did they have to wear their insecurities like armor? Couldn't they tell that the truth wasn't always made of arrows?

"Why?" Ness croaked. Over the sounds of the battle, he knew that the rebel wouldn't able to hear him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ness spotted Ana running straight towards him. She bore numerous cuts on her body, which likely meant that her psionic aura had absorbed many more. Blood drops flew off the blade of her axe as she broke into a sprint. She slowed to a halt next to Ness, slamming her axe into the back of the rebel crawling towards him. The rebel's eyes went glassy; he died without uttering a noise.

"We have to go," Ana said, taking gulps of air between words. "I can't hold off these Revivalists any longer. Teleport."

* * *

Ness and Ana appeared in one of Yazhou's town squares. Unlike the area near the capital, Ness could make out clear roads and recreational shops.

"Psych," Ana said, leaning on Ness' shoulder as she gasped for air. "Can't psyching fight at this altitude. No psyching oxygen."

"I'm sorry," Ness said, supporting Ana's weight as best as he could. "I wasn't much help, was I?"

"You were fine." Ana tried to smile but soon returned to panting. "Besides, not everyone needs to fight."

 _But I'm a psion,_ Ness thought. _It's my duty to fight for those who cannot._

"So what do we do now?" Ness asked.

"What are you two doing here?" came Xiyen's voice. "I thought that you were going to talk to Kim."

"Ana!" Paula rushed up into Ness' field of vision and up to Ana's side. "What happened to you?"

"Not… much." Ana coughed. "Just a few scratches."

"You're losing blood, Ana. Lifeup!"

The wounds all over Ana's body faded, leaving only minor scars behind.

"What happened?" Xiyen asked. "And you two had better not pretend like it was nothing."

Ness told Xiyen and Paula everything that happened, from meeting Megan Aniah at the palace entrance to fighting the Revivalists right outside of Yazhou.

"If they breached your army's line, they'll be here soon," Xiyen said. "Someone needs to tell General Kim about this."

"I do it," Ana said, still breathing heavily. "Don't have much psionic energy left anyway. Teleport."

"How soon will the Revivalists get here?" Ness asked after Ana disappeared.

"If they already got through the pass between the cliffs? Not long."

"We need to evacuate the city," Paula said. "Who knows what those men will do to harmless civilians?"

"I hope they believe us." Xiyen grimaced. "Let's start with the people over there."

Xiyen pointed to a group of men walking past a line of stores. He shouted something in Dalaamian at them, and they responded in the same language. After a few exchanges, the men nodded and ran away.

"Phew," Xiyen said. "Looks like they believe me. Or maybe they don't believe me but don't want to risk it."

Right then, Ness heard the thundering of hooves coming closer to them.

"They're here already?" Paula asked.

"They shouldn't be." Xiyen whipped out his bow and nocked an arrow. "Even discounting the travel time, the march from the pass to Yazhou is too steep for horses. I don't know how they could possibly…"

"Starmen."

The voice came from a woman, but it wasn't Paula. Ness turned his head around to spot an exhausted Megan Aniah, followed by her husband.

"After they killed all of our ectoplasmic soldiers, hordes of starmen came in and teleported the damned rebels away," Megan said. "I guess the starmen wanted us to waste our psionics on other humans instead of them."

"It worked," Adam Aniah said. "Summoning those soldiers and blasting the oncoming Revivalists depleted most of our psionic energy. We're basically useless now."

"Well, we need people to help evacuate the area," Paula said.

"Let's do that," Megan said. "In this state, I don't think that I could fight a five year-old."

After quick directions from Xiyen, Megan and Adam split up to escort civilians out of the area.

"So what do we do?" Ness asked.

"We'll distract them," Xiyen said. "Follow me."

Xiyen lead Ness and Paula up to an abandoned building. Xiyen circled around to the back, revealing a rope ladder.

"Let's climb," he said.

Ness scampered up the ladder after Xiyen and Paula. He didn't know where Xiyen was taking them, but he could trust the Dalaamian teenager… right? Xiyen helped hoist Ness up the last few rungs of the ladder, pulling him up to the flat roof of the building.

"Now," Xiyen said. "We get into position."

Only then did Ness notice how the roof was part of a large shopping complex connected with the tops of other stores. Xiyen ran across the rooftops without caution and Ness followed behind more hesitantly. They soon arrived at a junction in the road, which meant an end to the roofed path. Xiyen nocked an arrow.

"I used to come up here on the rooftops all the time with Poo," the Dalaamian said. "It took the adults years to discover that ladder back there."

Xiyen flashed a sad smile, letting his arrow loose as the rebels stormed into the shopping district.

"Now," Xiyen said. "Let's watch these assholes play the same game."

"Indeed," Paula said, putting on a smirk. "PK Fire."

The center of the Revivalist mob exploded into flames, leaving behind ashes and charred skin. Paula nodded in approval. Ness almost vomited off the side of the building.

"That's what they get for turning their traditions into an excuse to rape and kill," Paula said.

Xiyen fired off a couple more arrows, both of them taking Revivalists in the throat. The mass of rebel soldiers converged towards the building that Ness stood on, but they couldn't reach up on the rooftop even while mounted.

"Come down and fight, archer!" one of the Revivalists shouted. "Only a coward fires arrows from up high."

"Then I shall be a coward," Xiyen said, shooting that Revivalist in the chest. "But unlike you, I shall live through the day."

However, most of the Revivalists screamed at Paula. They called her a witch, an unnatural creature, and probably a bunch of other things in Dalaamian. For every shout, the anger in Paula's eyes grew a little fuller. She unleashed another blast of fire, taking out more Revivalists.

"Stop this!" the unit leader announced. "They want to draw us here. Let us sack Yazhou and make the witches come to us!"

"Psych," Xiyen said. "I was hoping that they'd be dumb enough to stay."

As the Revivalists ran off, Paula created a third fiery explosion.

"Do you really have to kill so many of them?" Ness asked Paula, his throat dry.

"You just heard them," Paula said. "They're here to sack the city. Each one that I kill means one less that Yazhou has to deal with."

 _But I've never seen you so angry before,_ Ness thought. _It scares me._

"So what do we do now?" Paula asked.

"Wait for the next wave," Xiyen said. "They might be stupid enough to let us kill most of them."

"Can't we do something to help the city?" Ness asked.

"Killing off as many of these bastards as we can is the best that we can do." Paula blushed, looking at Xiyen. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"I know that you did not mean me," Xiyen said, "Although I am confused as to why you Eagleish cannot come up with separate words for the general insult and the statement about one's parentage."

Ness saw an infantry unit marching in the distance. Why did the Revivalists even bother to keep in rank when they would devolve into a mob at the sight of combat anyway?

"Okay," Paula said. "Here we-"

A half-dozen starmen teleported on the building next to Ness.

"You gotta be psyching me," Xiyen said. "Starmen are _real?_ "

"Stay away from us!" Paula shouted at Xiyen. "They'll ignore you if you're not a psion and you don't attack them."

Xiyen grimaced and backed away from Paula and Ness, nocking an arrow. The starmen fired lasers at Ness and Paula with frightening accuracy, a half dozen of them sizzling as they connected with Ness' chest. Ness sank to his knees as he struggled against the blinding pain.

"PK… Rockin," Ness wheezed.

Ness used the power to create interference in the psionic realm. He imagined it like whipping up a heavy sandstorm to prevent someone from seeing, except Ness' power only affected the starmen's vision and not the senses of him or his friends. Ness gasped, healing himself with Lifeup as his senses returned to him. The starmen continued to fire lasers at him, but most of them didn't even come close to hitting Ness or Paula.

"Attack them now!" Ness said. "They're blinded!"

Xiyen unleashed a flurry of arrows at the close-up starmen while Paula used PK Freeze to encase their bodies in ice. Before long, all of the starmen lay dead on the building.

"Nice," Xiyen said. "Now let's focus on-"

Another group of starmen appeared on the roofs of buildings across the street.

"Psych it!" Xiyen shouted. "Why do they care so much about us?"

As if in response, even more starmen appeared on the streets themselves.

"We can't fight all of them," Ness realized out loud. "And Ana isn't here to teleport us out. What do we do?"

"Are they blinded like the other ones?" Paula asked.

"They can see, but the area that we're in will look foggy."

Lasers flew past Ness, some missing him by inches.

"So they can shoot in our general direction," Xiyen said. "And eventually, they're going to kill us."

Ness gritted his teeth. There had to be some way out of this!

"Anyone got a brilliant idea?" Paula asked. "Because now would be a good time for it."

Right then, all of the starmen halted their laser firing. They stood still for a second, the universe going silent. Eventually, they teleported away. Ness, Paula, and Xiyen didn't speak for several moments. Ness blinked, expecting reality to warp around him. Starmen didn't just _leave_ when they had a target in sight.

"I guess they weren't patient enough to keep shooting until we died?" Xiyen offered. "Either way, it's good for us."

 _Is it, though?_ Ness asked himself. _If they left us, it's probably because they found someone more dangerous to target._

 _Someone more dangerous…_

 _Oh no._

"Paula," Ness said, unable to hide the urgency in his voice. "Where's Lucas?"

"The kid who tagged along with us?" Paula asked. "After we got into town, he wanted to look around by himself for a while. You look like a ghost, Ness. Is something wrong?"

"Yes," Ness croaked. "I think that something is very, very wrong."

* * *

Lucas watched as one of the Dalaamian Revivalists stuck a spear through a child no older than ten. Two other Revivalists stabbed even younger children who looked like the twins.

Twins…

Lucas charged towards the Revivalists, pulling out his metal sword (not his psionic one, heaven forbid). Diana Carpainter had recommended that he not fight at all, but Lucas felt like now would be a good time to break that rule. So long as he didn't resort to using his psionic sword or armor, he _should_ be fine.

Because contrary to what most people thought about him, he did have emotions. He felt sad and angry when the Revivalists murdered innocent children. Normal, healthy responses granted to him by the Sanctuary back in Onett. He just needed to figure out how to express those feelings in social situations.

But that could come later. For now, Lucas was about to deliver justice.

The Revivalists shouted curses at Lucas upon seeing him, telling him that all foreigners were this and that and so terrible. Blah blah blah. Lucas killed them all where they stood. He hardly felt the resistance as his sword sliced through flesh. Even though Lucas' combat instincts were fading along with his savantism, Lucas could easily take on a few relatively untrained warriors.

Indeed, Lucas didn't worry about himself. But what about the other civilians? Would they meet the same, grisly end as the poor children that Lucas had just witnessed?

Stepping out from his side street into a larger shopping district, Lucas saw what he expected.

Signs were torn down; windows were broken. Corpses lay bleeding all over the streets. In every store that Lucas saw, Revivalists picked through valuables. It reminded Lucas of a time… when…

 _An army of soldiers wearing snout-nosed masks stood in the center of Tazmily Village. Nobody was going to miss the big event, not if their life depended on it._

 _After all, the pigmasks would kill anyone who didn't show up._

 _A pair of soldiers brought a wiry man with a cowboy hat up onto a stage. He was so thin that Lucas barely recognized the man as his father. Claus grunted. Lucas snuck a look at his brother and saw only contempt in Claus' remaining eye. Even back then, an eyepatch covered up his other eye._

 _"Listen, citizens of Tazmily," a pigmask wearing a white cape spoke. "You do not understand your situation. We own you. We control you. You WILL be our nice little slaves. There is no room for interpretation in our decrees. To prove that we are serious…" the pigmask gestured towards Lucas' father. "Kill him."_

 _Lucas looked away, holding onto his brother's arm._

 _"Nobody will miss him anyway," Claus muttered._

Lucas returned to the present. He realized that he had been digging into his palm with his nails to the point of drawing blood. He looked once more at the scene in front of him.

Death.

Desolation.

How could anyone be so cruel?

Lucas leapt into each shop and killed every Revivalist inside. Because of their unorganized style, he managed to kill quite a few of them before they banded together against him. It didn't matter that they eventually joined their strength. He killed them all.

Lucas walked back towards the palace, hoping to stop the Revivalists from doing any more harm. He came upon a residential area, where Revivalists were dragging families out of their houses and gutting them.

And they weren't the only ones. Several dozen starmen disintegrated houses and civilians with lasers. Some starmen even pulled people off the ground with telekinesis and tore their limbs off one by one. Lucas looked upon the slaughter with hate boiling in his stomach.

He would kill them all.

Just like before, Lucas charged at the Revivalists and starmen, killing anyone who crossed his path. But it was _hard_ to kill starmen, especially with his rusty old sword. Starmen could absorb a lot of damage with their psionic auras, so Lucas had to strike each starman a dozen times before it died.

Soon, the starmen started circling him, firing lasers in unison. Unlike the Revivalists, the starman really did make Lucas feel like he was fighting against an organized army. Lucas' aura allowed him to take a lot of punishment, but it wouldn't last forever.

But with his psionic armor, though…

 _No,_ Lucas thought. _You promised Ness that you would never use that abomination ever again._

If he summoned his psionic sword and armor, he would be able to protect himself and rip through the starman army with ease. He could then move on to assist other areas. Sure, he might revert back to his state as a savant, but if he could prevent Yazhou from becoming another Tazmily, it would be worth it.

 _What would Ness do if he were in your situation?_ Lucas asked himself.

Well, Ness didn't fight or kill anyone, but what about in a more general sense? Would Ness turn into a savant to protect people? As much as Lucas hated to admit it, he knew the answer.

Ness would sacrifice his own sanity and free will if it let him help people in need.

Pushing down the voice in his head that screamed for him to stop, Lucas summoned his psionic sword and armor.

 _For Bronson,_ Lucas thought, slicing four starmen in half with one stroke. _Who was worked to death in the pigmask factories._

It was so easy to kill these starmen with his enchanted sword. Their lasers bounced off of his armor, which appeared at the perfect times to protect him from harm. In this state, Lucas was unstoppable.

 _For Abbott, who was run over by a tank driven by a drunken pigmask who wanted to "Show Tazmily who's boss."_

Lucas realized as he sliced through more starmen that he was reciting a list. Every morning when he first woke up, Lucas would go over everyone he knew who died at the pigmasks' hands.

 _For Salsa, an innocent monkey turned chimera and forced to fight against other chimeras for sport._

 _For Richie, who was thrown and impaled on a fence stake while the pigmasks laughed at her screams._

Lucas realized that tears were running down his face. He continued to flick his sword around, each stroke ending the lives of Revivalists and starmen. He barely noticed his own killing as he continued his list.

 _For Mike, who was betrayed by Isaac and received five laser bolts to the stomach._

 _For Angie, who fell ill and died after the pigmasks forced her to bake and cook for 18 hours a day with no weekends or vacation days._

 _For Lighter, who burned to death in a forest fire that the pigmasks created._

Lucas could feel himself slowly slipping back into his emotionless state, but it was too late to stop now. He listed the last two people with as much sorrow as he could muster:

 _For Fuel, who was hanged for trying to defend his property._

 _For dad, who was killed as an example._

 _May nobody else have to go through what you did._

* * *

Hours later, Ness found Lucas standing amidst a sea of corpses, both starman and human. Lucas stumbled towards Ness with his stained-glass, psionically powered sword in hand. Before Ness could comment, Lucas looked him in the eye.

"I killed them all," Lucas said. "All of the starmen. All of the Revivalists. I went to every place I could and killed them with this." Lucas tossed his psionic sword on the ground. "I couldn't help it. They made me feel weak, helpless. I had to do _something._ That sword is powerful enough to take out a starman with one slice. If I didn't use it, then the deaths they caused would be my fault."

How could Ness chide Lucas about using his sword after _that?_

"Thanks to you, we won the battle," Ness said. "The Revivalists won't hurt anyone ever again. Are you feeling all right?"

"No." Tears started running down Lucas' cheeks as he trembled like a leaf. "I can feel myself start to slip back into who I was before. I'm scared, Ness. What if I turn back into a killing machine?"

"You won't," Ness said. "I can help you."

"No!" Lucas held his hands out, taking a step back. "…I don't want to hurt you."

"You would never-"

"You don't psyching know me!" Lucas shouted. "I can't feel love. Maybe I never could. Do you know how easy it would be for me to rip your heart out of your chest? It's getting hard for me to remember why I shouldn't."

 _It… is? Divine Rulers, this is worse than I thought._

"Yes," Lucas said. " _There's_ the horror. _There's_ the revulsion. Listen to those feelings and leave me alone!"

Lucas took off and ran away. After a few seconds, Xiyen and Paula approached Ness, making him wonder how long they had been listening.

"My god," Paula said, looking at the starmen and Revivalist corpses that covered the ground. "Did Lucas do all of this?"

"Yes, and he might do it to better people if I don't help him," Ness said. "I'm sorry to leave you guys, but I need to do this on my own. Make sure to tell Ana what I'm doing, all right?"

Without waiting for a response, Ness took off after Lucas.


	34. Chapter 29: The Shard of Ceres

**Hey, everyone! :) I may or may not be addicted to Pokemon Go. I might have to cut back to a single update per week after discovering that game.**

 **I'm kidding... probably. :)**

 **So we finally go back to Jeff's PoV this chapter. I was really scared about this one because it breaks away from the more realistic tone of the series and delves into the surreal, but I think Jeff's logical attitude about everything doesn't make it** ** _quite_** **as jarring as I had feared. This is another one of those chapters that I just kinda wrote without having a real plan, so... I'll let you guys make of that what you will. :)**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Well, characters other than the protags and supporting characters are generally antagonists, so it makes sense that they're not wholly good. :) But I guess it's not super common in a book to have major antagonists on both sides of a conflict. Well, if we're talking legality then Ness is covered because he's fighting for the government. If killing anyone was banned then soldiers wouldn't really be able to do much in the way of combat. So long as you fight the people that the government tells you to, you're covered. Yeah, I wasn't just about to let Lucas recover that easily. It would be a little lame if he got over his problems in such a short period of time, and I didn't want him to sit out forever. See you! :)

 **A Fan:** Such is the hypocrisy of the Revivalists, no? Willing to turn a blind eye to certain parts of their own philosophy and pick out the parts that align with what they're already going to do in the first place... there are a lot of people out there who will do that.

And while these characters are admittedly newbies at war (the Revivalists are mostly thugs and only Ana has really fought a lot of high-stakes combat before), I'm not sure that your suggestions would have helped them out. The Revivalists didn't bring any archers because they're the ones going uphill to sack a town which makes the whole shooting thing rather awkward. And they could have thrown stuff at the psions and Xiyen, but why bother? It's not like they're ever really going to kill Paula through her healing and most of their weapons are designed for close-range combat and looting. Besides, it's clear that Paula and Xiyen are just a distraction. They wanted to stall the Revivalists' assault by keeping them there, so ignoring the deadly ranged attacks and trying to get away seems like the best option.

Well, Ness and Paula don't really have anything to block the starman lasers with (people don't generally carry around thick blocks of steel for that purpose) and they could just heal up through the damage anyway. It's not like they really could have done anything else. And I think you're being generous by calling Ness, Paula, and Xiyen "a great threat." The starmen don't really care about a couple of psions and an archer. Besides, their mission might not necessarily be to take the city... ;) And if you found the Lucas thing cheesy... well, I can't really help you there. :( I get what you're saying, but that sort of plot technique where you use OP force to solve a problem but end up creating an even bigger problem in the process is pretty widely accepted across genres and even mediums (media?). I mean, it's not like Lucas would logically sit the battle out since he has the power to help people... which is what brought his flaw/handicap out in a direct way. Well, hopefully you like this chapter better. :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Heh, well I'm not doing that this chapter! ;) We're back to Jeff. As for Lucas and Claus... I guess we'll just have to see. I'll say up front that it won't be resolved in this fic, though. We'll all have to wait for the third installment. :( Thanks and I'll see you later! :)

 **PKTofuMaster:** Nice name change, nerd. :)

Uh... I might have written this during finals or AP testing. Nah, I think I wrote it in April (memories of such a long time ago are rather vague xD). Well, congrats on finding 34 matches. The Lucas part is supposed to be _super_ detached because he's in a pretty awkward place right now and the Ness part was kinda detached just because there was so much going on and he can't focus on all of it. So... kind of? I don't know. xD Well yeah, that's the only time Ness has ever killed people and he keeps getting flashbacks about it. Not killing is a real handicap, so he needs to keep reminding himself why he's doing it. I get what you're saying about the action/thought thing, but I tried my best to account for it.

Like when the Revivalist was crawling towards Ness. Ness didn't feel in enough danger for his body to go into panic mode because the dude was approaching so slowly. It's a real phenomenon; the Titanic sunk so slowly that people were calm and reasoned out who should be saved without flying into a full panic. That's why Ana was quick to kill first and think later while Ness hesitated so much. Yeah, I'm not sure if I mentioned that Flint died before... I think Claus brought it up at one point. *shrugs* Yeah, I see what you're saying about describing how Flint died and I probably should have added it in. I made an exception because Lucas doesn't need a gory description to feel devastated by his own father's death, but I agree that it would be better with a short blurb on how he went down (firing squad, I'm thinking? Although death by tomato works too).

Really. I hardly feel anything anymore when I post chapters. Heck, I'm to lazy to go back and fix a lot of my mistakes from previous chapters once I posted them. But I still appreciate your suggestions; they'll help me a lot when I go and write something else. :) And different writers experience writing in different ways. For me, passages always come out, and they're usually about the same quality. So yeah, I _never_ get writing block. I do struggle from lack of motivation sometimes, though (like today hehe). So really, it doesn't feel like much to me. Mostly like "Okay, I better keep this pace up because I need to get better quickly before I decide to get a job in something more practical." Yeah, the clock's ticking down for me at age 18. xD See you! :)

 **crabbyTomato:** My Scaraba is probably worse than my Dalaam since I know a lot more about Asian culture than Egyptian/Middle Eastern culture. I had to do some actual research because I knew so little. Yep, the rebels are quite the hypocrites. I got the idea from Harry Potter, actually, because I'm pretty sure that Voldemort and Umbridge are half-bloods despite their vehemence against muggles. Yeah, we'll see how Ness goes. I mean, the dude was literally crawling towards Ness so it's not like he was super dangerous; Ness would have done something if he thought that he was actually going to die. Although I guess getting you irritated at someone other than Paula is an achievement. ;)

Yep, pretty much. The Revivalists are only anti-psionics so long as they get to kill foreigners and judge others for not doing the same. Yeah, that's exactly what I was gong for with Lucas. :) Fighting is so natural and effortless to him that he has plenty of time to think about other ideas, which is why his descriptions for killing people were like "...And he killed them." He doesn't even pay attention to his own killing. I mean, Lucas had plenty of PTSD before becoming a savant, but that could easily be part of it, yeah. See you! :)

* * *

 _But I shall find no peace in worrying about LOVE. Instead, I must discuss with myself a topic that nearly tears me apart: the energy plan that I have enacted._

 _This plan consists of sucking the power out of psions and using it to power the city. In this zeal of mine to solve the energy crisis for future generations, I let myself create a monster that may overpower its master: Lucas, the psionic savant._

 _Because now, Lucas roams free, and he does not do so alone. The other subject, Kumatora, is now a student at the Ceresian school of psionics. Thankfully for me, she has amnesia and won't tell any tales, but Juno wants her recaptured regardless. What should I do?_

 _A third subject also escaped._

* * *

Jeff spent three days researching the Shard of Ceres. He found surprisingly few primary sources, and most of the ones that he found advised readers not to go at all.

Needless to say, that didn't help Jeff's mood.

Still, he persisted. The few reliable sources that he found yielded useful information. Jeff agonized over asking Mr. Agerate for access to the staff archives, but he couldn't let anyone suspect what he was planning. Even though Mr. Agerate let Jeff go on all sorts of crazy adventures, something told him that the teacher would be particularly displeased by Jeff's desire to visit the Shard.

Pulling out a pen and a sheet of paper, Jeff put all of the information that he had gathered from musty tomes into writing. First, he recorded the mundane: where the Shard was located, landmarks to guide him there. After that came the exciting part.

The Shard, supposedly, possessed a record of everything that happened and any knowledge that had been gained throughout human history. And while that information was free to access, most people who visited would have preferred to pay riches. To access the knowledge hub (as historical documents denoted it), a person seeking knowledge must walk along a path filled with illusions.

Here, the sources started to differ. People described many illusions: former lovers, shrieking ghosts, long-dead enemies. However, they all agreed that every single illusion was designed to draw the unsuspecting away from the safety of the path. Everyone agreed that it was a death sentence to walk off the path, although Jeff couldn't tell _how_ they knew.

Jeff scratched his head. So many hours of searching, yet so little information. He inferred from the personal accounts that he read that the Shard targeted each individual person based on what would cause them pain. Many of the personal accounts from the Shard mentioned the trauma from seeing the illusions. One man who visited 300 years ago reported waking up screaming at the same time almost every night, not quite able to remember what exactly he had been dreaming just moments earlier.

Jeff wondered what the Shard would show him. He didn't really possess any crippling fears or painful experiences. Compared to some of his friends, he had lived a sheltered life. How much could the Shard really hurt him? Jeff just needed to tell himself that the illusions were fake and walk right past them.

Still, Jeff started to consider giving up the course of action. Literally every single account that he read claimed that gaining the knowledge hadn't been worth the pain, and those were of the people who lived. Jeff heard many stories about people who entered the Shard and never returned. He doubted some of the sources' validity, but he couldn't deny that there was an eerie connection between visiting the Shard and having one's life fall apart.

 _It's okay,_ Jeff thought. _It's not like I have much to lose. Tony's dead, Paula left, Poo and Kumatora never came back from the chimera labs, and my dad was never really there for me in the first place._

 _I'm the only one left. Me and my bitter thoughts._

Jeff _needed_ to know the truth about Mr. Agerate. He couldn't keep shutting everyone out because he couldn't learn to trust. He wanted to believe Mr. Agerate and let the teacher support him, but the man made it next to psyching impossible. Mr. Agerate acted well enough that even if he were telling the truth it would be indistinguishable from one of his lies. The Shard was his ticket back into the light. It would put his fears to rest.

At least, that's what Jeff _hoped._

He sighed, looking down once more at his mostly blank sheet of information about the Shard. Was the "LOVE" person who was trying to pull Jeff towards the Shard tricking him? No, that didn't make sense. LOVE had told him and Kumatora to avoid the chimera labs, and he wished that he had taken its advice. Unlike Mr. Agerate, LOVE warned Jeff of problems rather than getting him all caught up in them.

 _Enough thinking,_ Jeff told himself. _Time to move out._

* * *

It took Jeff a few hours to walk to the Shard, which was long by Ceres standards. Once he came close, he realized why the accounts that he read depicted the Shard as "breathtaking." While it wasn't colorful, the Shard was _massive._ It stretched taller than any building Jeff had ever seen, discounting the Gate to Prosperity. If Jeff had to guess, he would say that it reached almost a mile into the sky.

Additionally, it carried the transparent, purple color that Jeff was used to seeing in psionic crystals. The Ceresian sun hid behind the Shard, but the massive structure let most of the sun's light through, illuminating the ground in a purple glow. In the back of his mind, Jeff remembered how the moon had turned red the night of the starman attack, cloaking all of the ground with an aura that made grass look wilted and blood look fuller. After that night, Jeff much preferred the color purple.

Taking another look back up at the Shard, Jeff wondered if it actually was a single, giant psionic crystal. If so, he tried to imagine how much energy it held. A cubic foot of psionic crystal could power a television for a year nonstop. If Jeff simplified the Shard's shape and estimated it to be a solid cone with a radius of 1000 feet and a height of 4000 feet… well, that would add up to over four billion cubic feet of pure, psionic crystal. That would probably be enough to power the entire universe's needs for centuries, if not millennia.

The next thing that Jeff took into account was its shape. For mathematical purposes, he estimated the Shard as an upside down cone earlier, but it honestly looked more like a massive spearhead sticking into the ground. Jeff could imagine the ground of Ceres representing someone's skin while the Shard pierced through and drew blood. If only the ground could bleed.

When Jeff finally reached the base of the Shard, he found that it looked like exactly how one account had described it: a wide stairway up that eventually converged into a small entrance at the top. The stairway was rumored to have exactly a thousand steps, but Jeff felt no desire to count them out. He set his foot on the first, crystalline step of the stairway, looking down at the ground through the transparent stair. He walked up the steps, his heart pounding from what he told himself was exertion and not fear. Every so often, Jeff looked down through the crystal stairs and saw how high he had gone.

Jeff was panting and sweating by the time that he finished. He had to duck as he walked through the opening into the Shard of Ceres.

Inside, he found himself standing in an empty room where the walls and floor were made of the same purple crystal. Jeff took a look back at the entrance just to make sure that it hadn't disappeared. He soon revised his observation of an "empty" room; as he walked forward he saw what looked like thorny vines covering the walls and floor.

However, all of the "vines" were made of purple crystal, same as everything else about the Shard. Still, the attention to detail was uncanny. As Jeff walked up to a wall and looked at one of the crystalline vines, he noticed random lines and an organized but largely random scattering of thorns that made them look almost real. Jeff touched his finger up to one of the thorns; it pricked his finger and drew blood. Jeff sucked on his finger, making his way back to the center of the room. What kind of place _was_ this? Who designed it? Who found enough crystal to make it? Something as large as this with complex models of vines couldn't just _exist_ without a cause.

Jeff walked through entrances into more rooms, each with different features. Statues of beautiful looking people. Drawings of planets etched into the side of walls. Jeff wanted to take note of each one, but he refused to distract himself from his task.

Most theories about the Shard hypothesized that it was an Osohe relic, but Jeff couldn't see why they would want to leave such a large formation of crystal behind. After all, the Osohe only left minor traces on Ceres; most of their relics were discovered in Aphrodite… Well, before it became inhospitable, anyway.

Time lost its meaning as Jeff wandered through halls and rooms of transparent, purple crystal. The more he walked, the less he felt any sort of connection to the outside world. At one point, he looked up and couldn't see the Ceresian sun through the transparent ceiling. Naturally, he came to the conclusion that it was nighttime, but he couldn't see any stars. Additionally, even without the sun Jeff could see perfectly fine, implying some sort of ulterior light source… Jeff tried not to think too hard about that one.

And while his grounds in reality faded, the crystalline rooms started to grow more and more abstract. Etchings on walls depicted random yet intentional markings rather than resembling physical objects; vines made of crystal coiled around thin air. Jeff pinched himself multiple times to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

Eventually, Jeff arrived at a circular room with a massive hole in the middle. For some reason, darkness concealed what lay at the bottom of the hole. The darkness made no sense when analyzed in regards to the properties of light, considering how wide the hole was and how the floor of the room was psyching _transparent,_ but Jeff knew better than to linger on the absurdity at this point. Jeff looked up at the ceiling, reading massive words scrawled into the crystal:

LEAP DOWN, IF YOU DARE.

Jeff frowned. The words were written in Eagleish, but records of the Shard existed long before the Eaglelish language even formed. None of this was making any sense.

 _Maybe I'm going insane,_ Jeff thought.

He was surprised at how little that prospect bothered him. After all, Jeff didn't have anyone left to disappoint, so why _should_ he care about what he became?

 _If I'm insane, then none of this really matters. Maybe I should jump._

Jeff looked back at the hole in the ground. He realized numbly that he didn't have any idea how to get out of the Shard even if he were to turn back. Why hadn't he thought of some way to record his path? Well, nothing that he could do about it now. He could either take a literal leap of faith or spend more time wandering aimlessly.

When phrased in his mind that way, Jeff decided on an answer rather quickly.

He jumped into the hole, falling into the darkness below. Well, it didn't really feel like he was falling so much as floating downwards. Apparently, even gravity didn't work normally here.

Jeff landed gently on a piece of ground that he couldn't see. At first, he assumed that the lack of light hid the ground's appearance from him, but he noticed that he could see his body perfectly normally. It was almost as if he couldn't see the ground because it wasn't really _there._

Still, it supported Jeff's weight as well as stone. A ring of tiny fires lit up in a circle around Jeff, followed by two lines of fires that extended outward, forming a tentative path. A sign made of crystal popped up right outside the ring of fire, reading:

DO NOT STRAY OFF THE PATH. STAY BETWEEN THE LINES OF FIRE.

Well, that was ominous. Jeff's heart pounded as he stepped out of the circle and onto the path made of fiery lines to his right and left. Even though the fires blazed with life, Jeff didn't smell smoke or hear any cackling. In fact, he didn't even see any material for the fire to feed off of.

With his focus on the peculiar fires, it took Jeff a couple seconds to notice that the ring of fire disappeared behind him. Jeff took a tentative step forward. The few fires left behind him extinguished themselves immediately.

 _So,_ Jeff thought. _It's telling me that I can't go back. I have to stay on the path, but the path behind me disappears with each step that I take._

Jeff took slow steps forward, looking around at his black surroundings for signs of life. After a few minutes, he increased his pace. Sounds that sounded suspiciously like ambient cave noises startled Jeff every time. As Jeff kept walking down the path, the ambience increased.

"Found you."

Jeff whirled around, spotting Dr. Andonuts sitting on a tree stump outside the path of flames. Jeff's father fiddled with a two-pronged device, examining it closely.

"He's not real," Jeff told himself.

"Now, that's not a nice thing to say to your father."

Dr. Andonuts stood up off the tree stump and stretched his arms. Jeff took a step backwards.

"Now, don't be scared," Dr. Andonuts said. "What's gotten into you, boy? You know I would never hurt you."

 _This… isn't real,_ Jeff thought.

But then why did this fake sound _exactly_ the same as Dr. Andonuts? How could the fake mimic the accepting yet indescribably icy aura that Jeff's father gave off? Whenever Jeff saw his father, he wasn't sure if he wanted to hug Dr. Andonuts or run away as fast as he could. This illusion gave him the same impression.

"Listen, Jeff." Dr. Andonuts' face softened. "I know I've never been the best father. I put my studies and inventions ahead of you. I'm sorry."

Jeff gulped. How many years had he dreamed to hear those words from his father? And to hear it now, coming from a fake…

"Please, Jeff," Dr. Andonuts said. "It's okay if you hate me, but please say _something._ "

"This is too real," Jeff said. "I… see what they meant."

"I should hope that my apology would be real. And who are 'they'?"

"I can't," Jeff said. "I can't…"

"You can't what?"

"I can't bear to see you like this. Happy. Caring. None of what you actually are."

Jeff looked down when he saw the pained look on his father's face. Just an illusion, right? No matter what Jeff said, he wouldn't _really_ hurt anyone.

"I didn't know it was this bad," Dr. Andonuts said. "Listen, Jeff, I'm sorry for neglecting you. I wanted to raise you, but I never knew how. Your mother was the one who always wanted to have kids, and she died in childbirth. You always looked so much like her…"

Jeff tried to tune out the sounds of his father sobbing.

"I'll make it up to you, Jeff," Dr. Andonuts said. "Just come over here, and I promise that I'll never leave you again."

The words tore at Jeff's heart. How nice would that be, to have a real parent? Jeff needed someone's shoulder to cry on. It wasn't even because of his age. He just wanted _someone_ there.

"No," Jeff said, clenching his fists. "I won't cross the line."

"You mean the fires?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "They won't hurt you. Just step over."

Jeff stared at the line of tiny fires that separated him and his father. It would be so easy just to take this illusion of Dr. Andonuts for his word and step off the path.

"I'm sorry," Jeff said, "But my answer is no."

Jeff didn't bother to look at Dr. Andonuts' face before running off.

"Jeff!" Dr. Andonuts shouted. "Jeff! Please, come back! We could be… a family… for once…"

"I'm sorry," Jeff said to himself. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Even his repeated words couldn't shut out his father's anguished cries.

By the time that Jeff escaped Dr. Andonuts' grief-filled shouts, he barely had the will to take another step forward. So _this_ was why every account that Jeff could find recommended not setting foot in this cursed place! Jeff seriously debated stepping off the path just to end this game, but he had to find his answers.

 _Yet another pain that I can't share,_ Jeff thought. _Yet another time that I'm alone._

"Jeff! Help!"

Startled back into reality, Jeff spotted Tony running towards him in a panic. Jeff was so overjoyed to see his friend alive that he almost forgot that it was an illusion.

"Tony," Jeff said. "What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Chimeras," Tony said, bending over his knees and panting. "Damned wolves. Can't outrun them."

"Why are they attacking you?" Jeff asked.

"I'll tell you later. Do you have anything to fight with?"

"I brought a laser gun that I made as a psychoscience project a while ago. Now, where is it…?"

"Ah, you must have dropped it on the floor." Tony picked Jeff's laser gun off the ground right next to him. "You're always leaving things around."

 _No, that makes no sense,_ Jeff thought. _I was looking at that spot just seconds ago and it wasn't there._

"Here you go," Tony said, holding out the gun.

Jeff nearly stepped over the line of fire to take the gun before he realized what he was doing.

"No," Jeff said.

"No what?" Tony asked, frowning.

"I can't…" Jeff shook his head. "The weapon's better if you use it. I can't aim it."

"Nah, come on. It's your gun. Come over here and take it."

"Come over here and give it to me."

"Why do you care so much?" Tony asked. "I didn't think that you were this pushy."

 _I'm not stepping over that line of fire,_ Jeff thought. _I'm sorry, Tony, but even you can't change that._

"All right, fine," Tony said. "If you really want to be this way…"

Out of nowhere, a crazed wolf ran up and bit Tony's leg, dragging him to the ground. Tony cried out in pain, dropping the gun. He scrambled to grab it back, but the wolf dragged him out of reach. Tony clawed at the floor and kicked at the wolf with his other leg, his eyes wild with panic.

"Jeff!" Tony shouted. "Don't just stand there! Grab the gun and shoot the psyching thing!"

Jeff stood there, paralyzed. He couldn't abandon Tony again… but this wasn't really Tony, was it?

"What are you doing?" Tony yelled. "I'm going to die!"

 _I'm going to die… I'm going to die…_ the words rang over and over in Jeff's head.

"I'm sorry," Jeff said. "But you're already dead. This isn't you."

Once again, Jeff took off running down the path.

"Jeff!" Tony shouted. "Please… Don't leave me…"

Tears blurred Jeff's vision as he ran forward. For what felt like an eternity, Tony's shrieks and the wolves' howls were the only sounds to keep him company.

 _This is it,_ Jeff thought after Tony's screams died down. _If I have to face another one of these, I don't know if I can take it._

The worst part was that none of this made any sense. Why did the Shard torment people who were simply looking for knowledge? And why in this way? "Don't stray off the path" was one of the lessons taught in fables. Jeff never liked that idea. If there were a good enough reason to leave the path, then one should do so regardless of advice from mentors and supposed wise men. Why would the Shard try to test the entrants in this archaic way?

If the Osohe created the Shard, it made even less sense. Wouldn't they have different fables and different lessons? Why pick a human idea like "Stay on the path?"

 _Or maybe I'm insane,_ Jeff thought. _That would explain a lot._

Jeff pushed the thought from his mind. Not because it was unreasonable, but because it didn't help him. He needed to get through this hellpit _now;_ all else could wait.

After another eternity, the pathway between the lines of fire lead up to a single, crystalline door embedded in a thin frame. Jeff walked up to the door, grabbed onto the handle, and swung it open. On the inside, Jeff made out a different room that looked more like the rest of the Shard: purple, transparent walls and floors provided basic structural support and nothing more.

As Jeff was about to step inside, he heard a movement behind him.

"Jeff."

He turned around, seeing yet another person standing outside the lines of fire. Unlike before, he didn't recognize this person. She offered Jeff a weak smile.

 _Just another illusion,_ Jeff thought. _Might as well save myself the pain…_

"Jeff, please, speak to me."

The voice sounded desperate, pained. Jeff looked back at the melancholy smile on her face. He didn't _know_ this person, did he?

"It makes sense that you wouldn't recognize me, I suppose," the woman said.

"I'm sorry," Jeff said. "But I don't recall ever having seen you. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Jeff turned around and prepared once more to step through the door into the next room.

"I'm your mother."

Jeff froze in place.

 _No,_ he thought. _It… can't… be…_

"It's so nice to see you all grown up," the woman said. "I wish that I could have been there every step of the way. I still love you, Jeff. You know that, right?"

"I never did," Jeff said, still not turning back. "Dad never said a word about you. He never even told me your name."

"Ah, poor Pan. I guess my death was the beginning of the end for him. And it looks like you suffered the price as well. You look so lonely, walking down the path alone."

Jeff twisted away from the door and stared at his mother. Had either of the other illusions known about the path between the flames? Dr. Andonuts had mentioned the fire, he recalled, but had he known about the path?

"By the way," Jeff's mom said. "The name's Torah. It's nice to meet you for real."

"Can you see the flames?" Jeff asked. "Can you see the emptiness that surrounds us?"

"Ah, I didn't know that my son was a poet!" Torah said. "But yes, I know everything. This is the Shard of Ceres, is it not? You were told not to stray off the path, no matter what happened. Judging by your face, you've seen some pretty harrowing scenes already. I'm sorry for that."

Jeff's jaw dropped. This illusion of his mother _knew_ about her state?

"And you think I'm just another one of the Shard's creations," Torah said with a sigh. "Out to bring you off the path."

"Er… aren't you?"

"No. In fact, I wouldn't let you step off the path to join me if you tried."

"Then why…?"

"Why am I here?" Torah asked. "I can tell that you've never put much thought into being a parent. I'm here because I want to see my son. Please, don't look at me like I'm some sort of monster. You know that I can't hurt you as long as you stand between the flames."

"Maybe not physically, but I've heard enough screams to make me nervous," Jeff said. "I'm sorry, but I don't know if I can accept this as real."

"I never expected you to," Torah said. "But who says that only real events can make us feel something? I hope that you cherish these few moments together, even if you see them as a lie."

Why did those words pierce his heart more than Dr. Andonuts' anguished face or Tony's horrified screams? Maybe it was because Jeff couldn't deny how plausible this was. If the circumstances were different, he could be talking to his mother for real rather than standing alone and forgotten in this torture machine.

Tears blinded Jeff's vision. They only had a few moments left! At this point, it didn't matter whether this was real or fake. Finally, he got the chance to talk to his mom… and he would have to leave her so soon.

"Tell me," Jeff said. "What's your favorite color? Favorite animal? Favorite season? I need to know _something_ about you before you go."

Torah smiled; its sorrow nearly broke Jeff's heart in two

"I understand," she said. "My favorite color is deep sea green. It's also your father's."

Jeff's eyes lit up. He would have to ask Dr. Andonuts that in real life to confirm it.

"My favorite animal is an albatross, just because of how majestic it looks while flying through the air. And my favorite season… do you even have to ask?" Torah smiled. "I was born in Winters. Winter has forever been a part of me. I love the snow; I love ice-skating on frozen ponds while the forest remains silent. It's… something that I could never live without."

Hearing those answers only made the encounter even more painful. With every word that came out of Torah's mouth, she seemed more _real._

"Oh," Torah said. "I'm fading away. It was only a matter of time, I suppose."

Jeff looked up in alarm as specks of color flew away from Torah's body. After a few seconds, she and her clothing looked as pale as a ghost.

"Don't… Forget…" she said. "Keep it… close."

Torah collapsed on the ground. The empty, black floor ate away at her pale skin until nothing remained.

"Mom!" Jeff said. "Please… don't go. Not yet. We only just met…"

 _Don't forget,_ Jeff heard in his mother's voice. _Keep it close._

He could do that, at least. Jeff turned around and went through the door at the end of the pathway, closing it behind him.

(ILH)

Jeff found himself standing in yet another crystalline room. The deep purple of the crystal spoke to him no more than the emptiness of the last hall did. So much pain and nothing had changed. Here he was, still stuck in the Shard…

Jeff looked around. In the middle of the room stood a large pillar colored like a stained-glass piece of artwork. How had he possibly missed that before? All of his sources identified the rainbow pillar as the truthtelling machine that would answer all of Jeff's questions. He supposed that he just had to ask it?

"Hello, Jeff."

Jeff whirled around, coming face to face with Mr. Agerate.

"You!" Jeff shouted. "This is another illusion, isn't it?"

"The Shard is quite clear about the rules of the game, and you passed with flying colors," Mr. Agerate said. "Really, it was quite easy to get here before you. I just had to read your mind and teleport here before you walked in."

"So you bypassed the firelit path?" Jeff asked.

"No, I can't directly teleport into or out of the Shard. I warped right in front of it the second that I caught wind of your plan. I walked down that firelit path just like you did." The teacher offered a weak smile. "I probably cried more."

"Why are you stalking me?" Jeff asked. "Do you really want to kill me after all?"

"If I wanted to kill you, then I would have done it before now," Mr. Agerate said. "Actually, your father asked me to take care of you."

"You two know each other?" Jeff asked. "But he never even mentioned you!"

"Your father hardly spoke two words to you in his entire lifetime. It's natural that he wouldn't talk about me. Besides," Mr. Agerate chuckled. "I remind him of everything that he's lost."

"What are you talking about?" Jeff asked. "Actually, don't answer. I'm sick of you and your fancy words. I came here because I wanted to know the pure truth about you. If I ask that pillar over there, you can't talk your way out of the answer it gives."

"Yes, I know perfectly well why you-"

"Then why are you getting in my _fucking_ way?" Jeff asked.

Mr. Agerate's eyes widened slightly. That was the most shocked Jeff had ever seen him. After a second, Mr. Agerate sighed.

"And you probably think that you're the only one who's friendless and alone," Mr. Agerate said. "I was reading your mind from over here while you walked through the path. You know, so that I could jump in and save you if I needed to. I know how much you want to have a real parent, Jeff. I wanted to be that person, but I guess it was never meant to be."

"Wait a second," Jeff said. "You actually _care_ about me?"

"Yes!" Mr. Agerate said. "You and Tony and Kumatora! I've hardly been able to keep myself from falling apart these last few days. Because it always seems like no matter what I do, I always do more harm than good. Do you know how psyching _demoralizing_ that is?"

 _Wait,_ Jeff thought. _Why didn't he mention Poo? He went missing as well._

"Gah," Mr. Agerate said. "I became a teacher because I needed to be around new people all the time. I needed to feel like I was helping young minds. Without that, I would have lost it years ago and killed myself. It's tempting, knowing that most people would cheer at my death…"

"Most people don't even know you!" Jeff shouted. "Nobody knows _anything_ about you!"

"That's where you're wrong," Mr. Agerate said. "Nobody knows anything about Apollo Agerate, but that hasn't always been my name."

 _W-What?_ Jeff asked. _What could he possibly mean?_

"You saw how I could turn into different forms back when I was fighting Giygas, yes?" Mr. Agerate said. "You wondered if one of those monsters was my real form. You were closer than you probably believe. The truth is, most powerful psions can change their shape at will. This body is an… alias, if you will. But it also feels more like me than my birth form."

"So… you're actually someone else?" Jeff asked.

"Basically," Mr. Agerate said. "I stole the last name 'Agerate' from someone in my father's organization. After I killed him, that is."

"What?" Jeff said. "Why did you do that?"

"Still haven't figured it out?" Mr. Agerate said. "I was worried that you had caught onto me a long time ago. There are only so many psions who I can be, after all. And few psions are as powerful as I."

"Tell me, who is your real self?" Jeff asked.

"This self is plenty real," Mr. Agerate said. "But if you mean the body that I was born in, I guess I would be better off showing you. Polymorph self."

Mr. Agerate's body _morphed_ in a couple of seconds from an elderly man to a middle-aged woman with stocky limbs and a bow slung across her back.

"I'm sure you recognize me by my sister's appearance," the woman said, her eyes twinkling with humor, "But the name's Diana Carpainter. It's nice to meet you in this form, Jeff."

 _Diana… Carpainter? Wait, so one of my teachers is a mass murderer and an ex-cultist? No… this can't be real._

"Don't you see, Jeff?" Diana asked. "You're not the only one who's alone. After all, who would accept me after what I did?" Diana flashed a smirk. "Trust me, I know _exactly_ how you feel."


	35. Chapter 30: No Fairytale Ending

**Hey, I'm writing this Thursday night because I have orientation for college Thursday and Friday so It's going to be a busy time tomorrow. I'm hoping to get this out right at the crack of dawn on Friday, but... Well, I guess we'll see how that goes.**

 **But yeah, I'm too tired to actually write part of my story or say anything fun/engaging, so I guess I'll move onto review responses.**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Yep, Diana is the Roman Goddess of nature, the hunt, and the moon (don't quote me on that; I'm tired and could be getting my facts mixed up). Yep, she's gotten quite a lot of the quality time with the main characters. :) Yeah, I might have to stop using Pokemon Go because I can't go without thinking about it whenever I'm outside and I think that it's stifling my creativity (I really rely on periods of time free from distractions to get a lot of my motivation and ideas). I know, Jeff's story is super sad but it's just when compared to everyone else... Yeah. Hmm, I do see parallels between the Shard and Alice in Wonderland, but that wasn't my intention. See you! :)

 **A Fan:** It's fine. :) While the original building that they climbed on was abandoned, they ran across enough rooftops to get to a place that wasn't quite as shoddy and wimpy. Perhaps I didn't convey that clearly. And yeah, it can get annoying when the plot takes a step back like that, but it needed to happen for my plan to unfold correctly. The Shard is supposed to be ambiguous and spooky, so I won't try to shed too much light on it now. :) Yeah, Jeff's had it pretty rough, but he always compares himself to someone in a worse position. Heh, I did take some of your advice and decide to make Jeff more useful later on. We'll see how much you like that depiction of him. Yeah, Mr. Agerate and Diana were never seen at the same time, and Ana's PK Hurricane is just another attack. There's not a whole lot to it. Yeah there are a lot of alter egos, but considering that you know the canon characters already, it's not _too_ much to keep up with. I can sum up the foreshadowing. In the chimera labs, Pan Lorune/Dr. Andonuts hinted at it and Mr. Agerate had to interrupt him before he could reveal the truth. Minerva referred to Mr. Agerate as "she" a couple of times, both Diana and Agerate claim a tragic backstory full of regret, Agerate is really close to Minerva (even more than Minerva's best friend Megan Aniah). And yes, those will be explained. :)

 **crabbyTomato:** Wow, your favorite Jeff chapter? Well the bar for that isn't super high, but I accept the compliment nonetheless. :) Oh yeah, it is a lot like the firelit path before fighting Magus. Personally, I was thinking about more of a Kingdom Hearts vibe with a bunch of vague light/darkness mumbo jumbo. xD Yeah, I planned from the beginning to make the Shard pretty surreal, but I had no idea how to approach it. I think that settling on an almost mythological feel with following simple instructions through a web of deception worked so long as I acknowledged that none of it makes any sense to someone like Jeff. Ah, thanks. :) The scene with his mother kind of came out of nowhere, but I was pretty happy with it. Yep, Diana's been more active in this fic than she's let on. ;) Just another way to make sure that an OP character doesn't take over the plot. Yeah, the reason that she didn't mention Poo is pretty simple and not super consequential. She's just not really worried/regretful about him like with Kuma and Tony. I wonder why...? ;)

 **PSIBoy:** I'm glad that Lucas unnerved you. That was the intended effect. :) Shows that you're a healthy human being. Yeah, the Revivalists are rather primitive, partially due to Dalaam's isolated nature. Social progress is difficult when there's no outside pressure. LOVE hasn't really made many appearances, and it's not super important right now. You can just ignore it/him/her. Ah, thanks. Yeah, that was my first attempt because that surreal style doesn't really appeal to me usually. What made that part work for me (at least more than some of my other crappy scenes) was how Jeff didn't really accept the surrealism, so it didn't break too far from the tone. Yeah, there was a little foreshadowing but I think I made it a little too vague. It's always so obvious to me because I can connect all the dots from the get-go. I'll try to respond to you PM soonish (haha I'm terrible at responding to PMs in a timely manner)! :)

* * *

 _It amuses me how the third subject is the most harmless and yet the most dangerous of the three subjects in the Vulcan Lab. Yes, Lucas' power is unmatched by any other psion in the universe. Yes, Kumatora comes from a biologically superior race than us humans._

 _But the third subject… he could bring me to my knees, if he wanted to. Because unlike the other two, he knows every psyching thing about me. Not to mention that he weaves webs of intrigue so complex that even my colleagues on Ceres would be impressed. I'm convinced that he engineered his own escape, along with setting Lucas and Kumatora free._

 _I need to kill him before it's too late._

* * *

Jeff crossed his arms over his chest. Even though he was seeing it right in front of him, he still couldn't quite believe that Mr. Agerate was really Diana Carpainter.

"I don't mean to disrespect you," Jeff said, "But why should I believe that _this_ is your true form? If you could turn into anyone, then what's stopping you from trying to fool me by pretending to be Diana Carpainter?"

"Ah-hah! There's the logic in you that reminds me of Min." Diana chuckled in what sounded like mirth rather than humor. "You're right, of course. This could be just another skin of mine. There's only one way to tell for sure."

Diana gestured towards the stained glass pillar in the middle of the room. Jeff tore his eyes away from the enchanting light patterns that the pillar created to contemplate Diana's suggestion.

"So I just ask it what I want to know?" Jeff said.

"Basically, but you have to go through an intermediary."

 _Another person that I have to talk to?_ Jeff thought. _None of the reports mentioned that._

"Well," Diana said. "You _could_ just ask the pillar, but it might not show you what you want to know. The intermediary I mentioned can be a little… stubborn. I usually talk with him first so that he doesn't get the pillar to show me something stupid."

Diana's eye twitched towards a spot on the ceiling. Jeff followed Diana's gaze and noticed nothing significant.

"Yes, I'm talking about you," Diana said to the air. "Ah, stop pretending to get offended. We both know that you're a miserable bastard… Would you mind showing yourself to my friend here? He's probably confused as to why I'm talking to a ceiling… Yes, I know that it's against the rules. Would you please do it anyway?"

Diana sighed, shaking her head.

"Um…" Jeff said. "Do I even want to know?"

"Don't worry about it," Diana said. "Everything will make sense if he decides to show his fat ass."

Jeff raised an eyebrow. He could never picture Mr. Agerate using the term "fat ass." If he and Diana were really the same person, then why did they act so differently?

"Boo," came a voice from right behind him.

Jeff jumped, turning around to find himself facing an actual ghost. The ghost looked about Jeff's age, although he easily could have been younger. He bobbed up and down in the air, only existing in pale shades of grey.

"I would shake your hand," the ghost boy said, "But you know how it goes. I'm a ghost, so your hand would go right through mine."

"Ghosts actually exist?" Jeff said, trying to blink the image out of his vision. "But that makes no sense!"

"Chill," the ghost boy said. "I'm just a dead boy's psionic essence who chose to make myself visible. Against my own judgment, I might add," the ghost boy shot a glare at Diana. "I only look like the stereotypical ghosts that you see in movies because I chose to."

"Psionic essences can make themselves visible?"

"It's frowned upon." The ghost boy shrugged. "Then again, the Osohe do it all the time in this plane of existence. Ever heard about the ghosts in Osohe Castle?"

"Uh… no?"

"He's never been to Aphrodite before," Diana said.

"Oh, right!" The ghost boy snapped his fingers. "This universe is the one with all of the different planets and stuff. Ceres and Vulcan, huh? But hey, you probably don't want to listen to me ramble. You came for answers, right?"

"Yeah, I did," Jeff said. "So you can work that stained-glass pillar to show me the truth?"

"I do what I can. It kind of has a mind of its own." The boy paused. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? My real name's Lucas, but please call me Voice. It's nice to meet you."

"Voice comes from an alternate universe," Diana said. "And since there's also a Lucas in this universe, we need some way to distinguish the two."

"An alternate universe?" Jeff said. "You believe in that sort of thing?"

"It doesn't really matter where I'm from," Voice said. "The point is that you need your answers and I can help you. Because unlike Diana thinks, I am a kind and thoughtful person who actually cares about the realm of the living."

Jeff nodded. A few months ago, he would have pressed Voice for more information, but he was starting to learn that some stones were better left unturned.

"So I have a question about whether or not Mr. Agerate actually is Diana Carpainter," Jeff said. "Do I just ask the pillar?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Voice said. "The Osohe were fans of simplicity, at least from what I hear. You just babble a question and I'll try to pump an answer out of this thing. But before you ask…"

Voice floated up to the pillar, beckoning for Jeff to come over.

"You can see the way that the light passes through the stained glass," Voice said.

"Where's the light coming from?" Jeff said. "I can't see the Ceresian sun from here."

"It's from this room. The pillar of truth _enlightens_ people, no?"

"Not funny." Jeff crossed his arms over his chest.

"It wasn't entirely a joke. The Osohe have a habit of taking such metaphors literally, and just as in human culture light was seen as a revealer of truth. But not all truths." Voice gestured towards the stained glass. "You know how color works, right?"

"Color?"

"Like how this red piece of stained glass here only allows red light through and absorbs the other wavelengths?"

"Um… sort of?"

"Well, I don't plan on talking about all of the physics that goes into it. Electrons scare me when they get excited. It's probably because I don't have any." Voice floated over to a patch of red light on the ground. "But the colored glass is a good demonstration tool. You can see how this red light passed through that glass, right?"

"Mm hmm," Jeff said. "What about it?"

"Pushy, pushy." Voice flashed a grin. "Well, this is _red_ light. It's only a fraction of what we consider to be 'regular' light. That's what the pillar does. It shows you the truth, but it doesn't tell you the whole story. Similar to how this light only lets you see in shades of red rather than the full spectrum, some of the Shard's messages don't allow for a lot of nuance. Please keep that in mind when you ask it questions."

Jeff took another look at the stained glass pillar. As much as he wanted to shrug off Voice's metaphor, he couldn't help but notice the ghost's point. Each ray of light that passed through colored glass was only a fraction of what made up pure, white light. The light patterns danced on the ground, colorful figures created by a web of partial truths. Jeff needed to make sure not to let himself get caught in only one strain of thought while missing the larger scale.

"It's okay," Jeff said. "My question is pretty black and white anyway." He cleared his throat, walking up to the pillar. "Are Apollo Agerate and Diana Carpainter the same person?"

Voice disappeared from sight. The pillar started spinning and whirring like psionics-powered motors used in vehicles. After a brief wait, a word appeared on the floor in front of Jeff, spelling "YES."

Voice popped back into view in front of Jeff, nodding at the letters in satisfaction.

"Did Juno Monotoli and not Apollo Agerate kill my friend Tony?" Jeff asked.

The letters disappeared and reappeared to form the word "YES" a second time. Jeff let out a sigh of relief.

"The Shard sometimes gives its answers in different ways," the ghost said. "Getting her not to display a whole video sometimes gets tough."

 _"Her?"_ Jeff thought.

"So do you believe me now?" Diana asked. "Do you believe that this is really me, the ex-cultist and outcast?"

"I suppose," Jeff said. "It's just… a little hard to take in."

Diana shook her head, smiling sadly.

"I know that it is," she said. "People all around the universe spit my name as an insult. You've never heard of Diana Carpainter the person; you've only heard of Diana Carpainter the villain. So does it make sense now why I say that I know what it's like to be friendless and alone?"

Jeff looked at Diana's wistful smile as he soaked up the pain in her voice. Could someone so destructive really be so sad?

"I guess I do believe you," Jeff said. "And I'm sorry for snapping at you all of those times earlier. I wasn't thinking straight."

"No, you were right to be frustrated with my smoke and mirrors, but can you see why I couldn't just tell you the truth? While Juno Monotoli impersonated me and killed Tony, I was off on Vulcan trying to chase down a sociopathic murderer."

"But you couldn't tell because you were afraid that someone would put two and two together."

"Exactly." Diana sighed, her shoulders slouching. "I don't suppose that you have any sympathy for me, but it's hard to live in constant paranoia. I think that both Minerva and I struggled with the constant fear of being discovered, considering how she blew up Aphrodite and started kidnapping psions to leech their energy."

"That was _her?_ " Jeff asked.

"Yeah. That's why I came here the first time. To find out what kind of person she was." Diana clenched her fists. "But enough about me. I truly am sorry that I couldn't protect Tony. He will remain in my thoughts until I die, just another name on a long, long list." Diana took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Jeff. I really shouldn't mope about this."

"Don't worry about it," Jeff said, managing a smile. "You saw how I treated you when I got stressed."

 _And really,_ he thought. _Tony's death wasn't either of our faults. Juno Monotoli killed him, and she won't hurt anyone else ever again. That is enough for both of us._

"Since you're here," Voice said, "Do you want to ask any other questions? You only have the full knowledge of human and Osohe history at your fingertips."

Jeff paused. Before, there had been so much that he wanted to know. Why had the universe come into existence? Were there other, more intelligent alien races outside of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies? Just who were the Oshoe?

But now…

"Nothing," Jeff said. "Nothing at all."

"Really." Voice raised an eyebrow. "You come all the way here, and you only ask a question about confirming someone's identity. Aren't you worried about anything else?"

"I don't know," Jeff said. "I guess I'm just tired. I didn't really have a plan for what to do after confirming that Mr. Agerate wasn't responsible for Tony's death. But really, what can I do? I'm just a kid who meddled with affairs that I shouldn't have."

"Jeff," Diana said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "What about your friends on Earth? Can you still care about them?"

 _I don't know,_ Jeff thought. _It's been so long…_

"I guess I never really knew Ninten," Jeff said. "It would be nice to learn something about him."

"Yeah, Ninten's a nice guy," Diana said. "Prickly, perhaps, but nice all the same. And really, can you blame him? He suffers from a lot of the same paranoia that I do because the empirists are trying to hunt him down. Life's tough for the heir to Emperor George's throne."

 _Wait…_ Jeff thought. _Ninten's the…?_

"Oh, I guess he never told you," Diana said. "Whoops."

Jeff could picture Ninten standing right next to them, scowling and bursting into a rant about how little family lineage mattered. Maybe Jeff knew Ninten better than he thought.

"All right, I have a question." Jeff stepped up to the stained glass pillar. "What is Ninten doing right now?"

In response, part of the floor rippled like water and turned into a screen that displayed…

* * *

Ninten awoke, blinking his eyes open as he made out the dim surroundings of his cave.

"About time that you woke up," Claus said. "After we swam across that lake, you were pretty out of it."

"Well, I had to swim for longer than I'm used to and then hike to this psyching cave without any food or water," Ninten grumbled. "Of course I was out of it."

"Eh, your psionic energy sustained you fine."

"Thanks, Mr. Empathy."

"Always a pleasure." Claus flashed a smile.

Ninten snorted, standing up and dusting himself off. He had left most of his supplies back with the Tessie-watching club back on the other side of the lake, so at least he didn't have much to carry.

"We're almost at Dr. Andonuts' lab," Claus said. "I scouted out a Sanctuary nearby, and we should probably use it to refill our psionic energy."

"Hmm?"

"You don't know about the Sanctuaries?" Claus asked. "You Earth people are all so ignorant. They're special zones where you can't use psionics or your psionic aura, but it makes psions feel peaceful and it restores their energy. On Aphrodite, our Sanctuaries were hot springs. There was even one inside of Osohe Castle, if you can believe it."

"So is the Sanctuary here another hot spring?" Ninten asked hopefully.

"Nope. I believe it's called 'Rainy Circle,' which describes the place quite well."

"Of course," Ninten said. "Just another attractive quality about this icepit."

"Ah, stop complaining. The rain's good for you."

"It's just water. I can dump the stuff on my head all I want and it won't help me."

"Less talking, more walking towards the rain."

"Now you're starting to sound like my dad," Ninten grumbled.

"Well, better your dad than mine."

Ninten opened his mouth to reply but decided to drop the subject upon spotting the downcast expression that lingered on Claus' face for less than a second. The two of them walked to the Rainy Circle in silence. By the time that they arrived, Ninten's muscles were already sore again. He followed Claus out of the cave and into the expectedly rainy clearing. It took him a second to realize that they weren't alone.

Two men already standing in the Rainy Circle whipped around, holding swords in their hands. Claus didn't even flinch before drawing his sword from its sheath.

Yet none of them looked particularly angry or tense. A sensation of calm washed over Ninten, clearing his mind. It wouldn't stop his heart from pounding in his chest, but Ninten trusted himself more under the Sanctuary's influence.

"Well, well," one of the men said. "I didn't expect to find anyone else here. Please, be on your way and pretend that you didn't see us."

"Wait a minute," the other man said. "Is that the nervous kid who was with Miss Aniah earlier? Ah, I suppose that you won't know."

"I do know Ness," the first man said. "And this isn't him. Ninten, is it?"

"Who's asking?" Ninten said, scouring the area for a makeshift weapon.

"The name's Frederick," the first man said, "And I'm an empirist psion."

"Why did you tell them that?" the second man asked. "I thought that we didn't want anyone to know who we are!"

"Relax, Walter. I don't think that they'll harm us. and if they try…" Frederick held out his sword.

"You might want to put that big stick of yours down, if you know what's good for you," Claus growled.

"Ah, and is this Claus One-eye himself?" Frederick asked. "You're basically a living legend on Vulcan, do you know that? I would shake your hand, but I don't think that you would let me get close."

"And you would trust me?" Claus asked. "You do know what this place does, right?"

"Yes, yes." Frederick held his hands up to the rainy sky. "No psionics work, not even our auras. So we die just as easily as regular people do."

 _Uh… we do?_ Ninten thought.

"And no, I don't trust you," Frederick said. "I just don't give a damn about what happens to me. Being locked up in a room full of dying men will do that to you."

"The way that Ceres treats its prisoners of war…" the man who Frederic called "Walter" grimaced. "And we're supposed to be the civilized ones."

"But all that civility decays in an instant when you can reduce an entire population to a blurb," Frederick said, barking a laugh. "Because, of course, an empirist isn't really a human, so you can do whatever you psyching want to us. Just like how peasants weren't seen as real people back in the time of the empire. The world hasn't changed at all! We're only finding different people to take out our hate on."

"And that goes for your empirist group as well," Walter told Frederick. "Many of them are ready to see all of their enemies as nothing more than roadblocks."

"Oh, undoubtedly! We're all evil." The cynicism in his voice bugged even Ninten. "There's no justice. No love. We just like to think that there is because it makes us feel safe. But the second that's all taken away… Hah!"

"Please, Frederick, try to contain yourself." Walter glanced at Claus. "I apologize for my friend. He's been through a lot."

"Did you rescue him from a prisoner of war camp?" Ninten asked.

"Yeah, after our plan with Vulcan went to hell." Walter shuddered. "Did you know that Monotoli owns many of the factories on Vulcan? Liberating the Vulcanese is the last thing that he wants. So when he assassinated Gerardo Montague and framed the Vulcanese, I knew that I couldn't stay."

"Wait," Claus said. "Gerardo is… dead?"

"I'm afraid so," Frederick said. "He was my friend too. But that's how life goes, you know? People take from those who can't fight back."

 _I used to believe that,_ Ninten said, _But I'm not sure if that's the whole truth. We humans do have a habit of fixating on the negatives even when there's plenty of good to look at._

"Bastard," Claus said. "I mean Monotoli, not any of you. Gerardo was too psyching nice for his own good."

"Agreed," Walter said. "I truly wished that he could bring peace between Ceres and Vulcan. So while Frederick is an empirist, would you mind putting your sword down? Like I've said, he's through a lot and this place helps psions relax."

Claus hesitated before slipping his sword back into its sheath. Both Frederick and Walter lowered their blades.

"So why are you here?" Ninten asked. "I wouldn't assume that this is a prime vacationing spot."

"Yeah, I'd sure as _hell_ rather be hanging out in Summers," Frederick said. "Even if everything there costs three times as much as it should. We just got back from a meeting with Dr. Andonuts."

"Really," Claus said. "Because we're about to meet him now. He has something of ours that we plan on taking back."

"Well, don't count on him cooperating," Walter said. "He's a little… well, _insane._ "

"How so?" Ninten asked.

"The normal ways," Frederick said with a shrug. "I got the sense that he was out of touch with reality. But unless you really need whatever he took from you, I would avoid that guy. He's even further over the edge than I am."

Claus frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. Ninten shivered, and it wasn't entirely from the rain.

"What do you think, Ninten?" Claus asked. "He seemed fine when we met him on Vulcan."

"We might as well give it a shot," Ninten said. "Hopefully not literally."

"It might come to that," Frederick said. "He was about to throw something at us when we decided to leave. You're both psions, right?"

Ninten and Claus nodded. Why bother hiding it?

"Well, that should help you survive if he does something dangerous," Frederick said. "Good luck."

 _Well, that's reassuring,_ Ninten thought.

"Thanks," Claus said. "I think we've spent enough time in this place regaining our energy. Ninten and I will leave so that you can exit whenever you wish."

Frederick and Walter nodded, both of them relaxing visibly. If they wanted to leave before Claus and Ninten, it would involve walking past them. And since any one of them could die to a single sword stroke without their aura… It was just easier not to give anyone the opportunity to get close.

But then again, regular people walked next to each other all the time. They didn't worry (well, most of them didn't) about random people stabbing them. Was it silly for psions to be so paranoid when put in the same, fragile position?

Ninten followed Claus out of the Rainy Circle and the serene sensation faded. They walked through the cave that they found themselves in, neither one of them saying a word. When they finally emerged from another exit, they saw a white laboratory looming in the distance, placed behind the eight pillars of Stonehenge.

"I guess we're here," Ninten said. "You ready to confront a mad scientist?"

"I've faced worse," Claus said, his lips twitching upwards to form a smirk.

* * *

"Wait," Jeff said, looking away from the screen. "Why are Claus and Ninten in Winters? And why do they want to meet my dad? And why is he…" _insane?_

"Yeah, your dad was actually the one who asked me to take care of you," Diana said. "He's… Well, Frederick's description of him isn't entirely wrong."

A pang went through Jeff's stomach, and it wasn't from hunger or physical pain. He had never really known his father, and now he might never get that chance. What would he do if he found himself talking to a husk of the man that his father once was? Jeff couldn't imagine himself in that situation.

"Jeff," Diana said. "I promise that the universe isn't out to get you. I know it's hard that everyone around you seems to be dying or leaving, but remember that you can always turn things around."

Jeff hesitated and then nodded. It was _hard_ to avoid playing the victim when nothing went his way.

"And I'm also worried about what Frederick said regarding Vulcan," Diana mused. "That Geldegarde Monotoli might be trying to keep the planet in a state of military lockdown so that he can continue reaping profits from his factories. I'll have to check that out at some point…"

"You could do it now," Jeff said. "After all, the Shard can tell you anything."

"Well, anything that it wants to," Voice said, bobbing next to the stained glass pillar.

"Actually, there's someone else that I need to check on," Diana said. "Are you okay if I change the scene?"

Jeff looked at the screen, which displayed Ninten and Claus examining the pillars of Stonehenge.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Actually, we could probably get two screens," Voice said. "So if one gets boring, you can switch to the other. Perfect for your generation's ever dwindling attention spans."

Diana forced a weak smile.

"All right, then." She stepped up to the pillar. "What is Lucas doing right now?"

Voice disappeared for a few seconds. When he reappeared, another screen appeared on the floor, showing…

* * *

Ness followed Lucas through the streets of Dalaam.

"Stay away from me!" Lucas screamed. "I won't… I don't want to hurt you."

"Lucas, I just want to help you. I know that you won't hurt me; we can talk things over together."

"How can you even _look_ at me after all of the people that I killed?"

"You killed bad people," Ness said. "And while I might not approve, it was your choice and I'll stand behind it."

"Just leave me alone!"

Lucas ran up to a cave entrance blockaded by rabbit statues the size of humans. Lucas hoisted one up and tossed it aside. By the way that it _thumped_ on the ground, Ness guessed that it was made of pure stone. How did Lucas manage to lift something so heavy?

Lucas dashed into the cave, and Ness followed him in several seconds later.

"Just give it up!" Lucas shouted. "Why do you even care?"

"Because I want to help."

"Look at me, Ness! I'm a mass murderer. I slaughtered an entire village back on Vulcan. Help someone who deserves it."

Lucas took back of running, and Ness followed him deeper into the cave. Ness' lungs burned from the exercise, but he didn't let himself slow down.

"Please," Lucas begged. "Please! Just go away! If I hurt you, I'll never… be able to live with myself."

 _I can't trust him to work this out alone,_ Ness thought. _What happens if he turns back into a savant after using his psionic powers again? I need to believe that I can help him through this._

"I'll tear you to shreds!" Lucas screamed. "I'll slice your body open and throw it off of this psyching mountain! And the entire time, there will be a small part of me screaming for an end. Don't make me do that to you!"

Lucas ran through another cave exit. Ness followed him out, his lungs wailing and bursting from lack of oxygen.

As he took the first step outside of the cave, a wave of calm washed over Ness. He felt the ground give into his weight like loose dirt. As he took the second step, he realized that he was standing on an actual cloud. A cloud that was _pink,_ no less.

The cave exit that he stumbled out of was located on the side of a cliff. Without the cloud, Ness would have fallen right off. He took another tentative step on the pink cloud, spotting Lucas at the cloud's edge.

"Please," Lucas said, holding his hands up in defense. "Please just go away."

"CONGRATULATIONS, HUMAN CHILD."

A creature unlike any that Ness had ever seen phased into existence. It looked like a withered starman floating in a metal pod, flanked by two red orbs at its sides. Ness squinted to get a closer look. After all, the starmen that Ness knew didn't pilot metal spheres.

"Who are you?" Lucas asked, backing away from the creature.

"I HAVE MANY NAMES. YOU HUMANS CALL ME GIYGAS."

Even just hearing the name made Ness flinch. The creature couldn't be… serious, right? Giygas was a force of evil beyond the scope of human imagination, not some shriveled up starman in a ball.

"BUT NAMES DO NOT MATTER. NAMES ARE CREATIONS OF CHAOS. NUMBERS BRING ORDER TO THIS UNIVERSE."

"You're not making any sense," Lucas growled.

"I SUPPOSE IT WOULD BE HARD FOR YOU HUMANS TO UNDERSTAND."

"That's it," Lucas said. "Since I'm already over the edge…"

Lucas opened his hand, as if summoning his sword, but nothing happened.

"THIS IS A SANCTUARY," Giygas transmitted. "YOUR PSIONICS DO NOT WORK HERE."

A second later, Ness felt an overwhelming psionic aura from Giygas' position. He squinted by reflex.

"BUT THIS FEEBLE CREATION IS NOT ENOUGH TO STOP ME."

Giygas swooped towards Lucas almost faster than Ness could see. Lucas darted out of the way. Giygas soared back into the sky, floating to a halt above Lucas.

"IMPRESSIVE. YOU HONED YOUR PSIONICS BY KILLING MY CHILDREN, YES?"

"The starmen?" Lucas asked. "Why? Are you looking for revenge for what I did?"

"ON THE CONTRARY. I WISHED FOR YOU TO KILL THEM AND BECOME STRONGER. THAT WAS THE PURPOSE BEHIND THE RECENT ATTACK."

Ness gasped. The entire assault against Yazhou had just been a ploy to pressure Lucas into using his psionic powers? Ness couldn't quite believe that Giygas' only motive for such a large assault was to turn one boy back into a savant, but he didn't know how to comprehend the workings of Giygas' mind. Perhaps it made perfect sense to an alien sense of logic.

"Why waste so many resources?" Lucas asked.

"IT IS DIFFICULT FOR ME TO COMPREHEND YOUR… OBSESSION WITH PURPOSE AND MOTIVE," Giygas transmitted. "I WILL TURN YOU INTO A SAVANT, AND IT WAS EASIER TO APPEAL TO YOUR MORALS RATHER THAN TRYING TO USE FORCE. THAT IS ALL I CAN SAY."

Lucas growled, taking a step back.

"YOU ARE STARTING TO REGAIN YOUR ORDER, YOUR EFFICIENCY," Giygas transmitted. "LET ME HELP YOU."

Ness sensed Giygas manifesting a psionic power, but it felt different than any power Ness had seen before. He sensed… emptiness.

Lucas' body stiffened. His eyes glazed over. All signs of fear or anxiety vanished in an instant. He looked like the perfect soldier.

"IN THIS SANCTUARY, YOU DO NOT HAVE THE STRENGTH TO RESIST MY POWER. NOT THAT YOU WOULD HAVE STOOD MUCH OF A CHANCE EITHER WAY."

 _Did Giygas lead us here on purpose?_ Ness wondered. _Did I play into his hands? No, there's no way that he could have planned this all out on such an intricate level._

"NOW," Giygas transmitted. "KILL THE OTHER CHILD."

"But…" Lucas said, his voice sounding mildly confused. "Ness is my friend. Why would I kill him?"

"THIS IS THE PURPOSE OF A HIVEMIND. YOU HAVE NO WILL OF YOUR OWN. I TAKE YOUR WISHES INTO CONSIDERATION AND OUTPUT THE OPTIMAL RESPONSE. KILL THE CHILD."

Lucas stayed still. Ness tried to run, but found his body frozen in place. In his panicked state, he couldn't tell if fear or Giygas' psionics pinned him down. After a few seconds, Lucas started quivering like a leaf. A single tear ran down his face and fell onto the floor of the Pink Cloud.

 _Divine Rulers!_ Ness thought. _He's resisting Giygas' will. How is that even possible?_

"HMM," Giygas transmitted, sounding as confused as Ness. "MY CALCULATIONS WENT WRONG SOMEWHERE. I SHOULD HAVE ENOUGH CONTROL OVER YOU FOR THIS. BUT IT DOES NOT MATTER IN THE SLIGHTEST. I CAN FIX THIS BROKEN TOOL. WELCOME TO THE RANKS OF ORDER, LUCAS."

"No!" Ness shouted. "What are you going to do with him?"

"YOU HUMANS ARE FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN MY STARMEN," Giygas transmitted, ignoring Ness. "BUT YOUR MINDS ARE CLUTTERED. SO MUCH LOST POTENTIAL. EVOLUTION HAS BEEN A CRUEL MISTRESS TO YOUR KIND. BUT YOU, LUCAS. YOU ARE DIFFERENT."

"Stop!" Ness yelled, feeling like an ant standing at the foot of a titan. "Don't you dare…"

"YOUR SAVANTISM ALLOWS YOU TO EXPERIENCE TRUE POWER. I COULDN'T WASTE SUCH A VALUABLE OPPORTUNITY."

Giygas flew up to Lucas and engulfed him in the metal-looking sphere that housed him.

"WE GO."

Giygas and Lucas vanished from sight, leaving Ness alone on a pink cloud overlooking a thousand foot fall.

"NO!" Ness shouted, falling to his knees. "Lucas… I'm sorry…"

Ness buried his face in his hands.

 _He's gone forever,_ Ness thought. _Reduced to a savant. Again._

Ness recalled meeting with Lucas in Magicant to rediscover the boy's heart. None of their efforts had accomplished anything.

 _What's the point of all this?_ Ness asked himself. _Lucas saved so many people. He sacrificed so much. He possessed the true qualities of a hero._

So why couldn't Lucas get a happy ending?


	36. Chapter 31: Not Over Yet

**Okay, this took me a while to get out because Xenoblade Chronicles is really fun and there are so many cutscenes that by the time I actually got to the point where I told myself I would reach before stopping, it was basically dinner time.**

 **On another point, did anyone else watch EVO? I just watched Smash 4 and Melee (waiting for someone to post PM top 24 on youtube), but both were pretty awesome. It's cool to see what people who are way better than I am at the game(s) can do. I kinda hoped that Kamemushi would win just because it would be awesome to say that a Mega Man won the biggest Smash 4 tournament ever.**

 **Also, I've been getting a lot of anxiety about writing recently. I don't know why since it's not mirrored by anything from my outside life (nothing bad really happened to me. One day I just... felt super stressed out about writing). It's made it hard to write anything at all, and when I can power through and get some words down on a page then it just makes everything feel worse the next day. I'm trying to work out why this is happening, but I might have to take a break from updating at some point (maybe after this fic is finished?).**

 **With that out of the way, we can move onto the review responses.**

* * *

 **ohmy:** Well, romantic love, friendly love, or just frienship in general can be difficult to distinguish from the others when you have nobody else. Lucas is in a pretty tough place and he's pretty confused. :(

 **Shimo no ko:** The alternate universes thing isn't going to be super big. Some of my other stories (well, basically just City of Progress) dealt with alternate universes but this one won't go too far down that route. Yep, things are getting worse before they get better. Classic part 2 of a trilogy, eh? ;) I didn't even really realize that I was doing it until I studied three act formats a bit. Thank you to death? Save it until after a few chapters. :P

 **crabbyTomato:** Yeah, orientation was okay. Trying to find places was stressful and no air conditioning sucks (not that the air conditioning in my house really works either... D:). Ah, thanks. :) Yeah, that scene came out of nowhere even for me. I'm still trying to decide how much I should plan my stories out and how much I should just let my impulses take the reins like that. I'm not going to stray too far into the parallel universe thing because things get really complicated really quickly and this story already has too many loose ends that I need to tie together. Yeah, this is fantasy, so things are a little different. :) Voice appears and speaks by manipulating air particles with psionics, but they don't really _belong_ to him. Yeah, Frederick and Walter aren't really important characters, so I'm not surprised that you didn't remember them. Yeah, that was the vibe I was trying to get across with Giygas. It seems ridiculously complicated, but he doesn't really think the way that we do. To be honest, I mostly added Ness' reaction in as a subtle way of saying "Look, I know that you might feel a little cheated just to see Lucas flop and fall backwards in his quest of becoming a human, but bad things happen to people." In stories like these, it's kind of assumed that Lucas will get better or at least go down in a blaze of glory so readers might be annoyed/surprised when he doesn't (yet). So if I make Ness feel surprised and cheated as well, they have something to relate to. :)

* * *

 _Sometimes, it's hard for me to remember why I should care about this universe. I'm holding onto the last bit of good in me, but the rest of my broken body wants to let go._

 _Too abstract? Yeah, I'm not a fucking poet either. I'll put it in simpler terms for the other logicians like me._

 _I am the only one in the universe who can stop the starmen from attacking us. I hold the threat of nuclear warfare over their head, and I can use my special dimension door power to send nukes past all of their defenses. I guess I should thank the starmen for that; nobody else except for Diana could breach their security so easily._

 _So after the starmen attacked us on Ceres, aided by the empirists, I retaliated and nuked the shit out of one of their planets. Since then, they've been quiet._

 _So now do you see why I can't die? Do you see why I'm the only one keeping the starmen from invading Earth, Ceres, and Vulcan?_

* * *

"Wait," Jeff said, looking up from the screen. "What happened? That alien joked about being Giygas, right?"

"Well, he doesn't look like how Giygas is normally depicted," Voice said. "As far as I know, Giygas doesn't even have a tangible form."

"That may be true in another universe, but I can confirm that the alien who kidnapped Lucas is indeed Giygas," Diana said. "And that's the worst information I've heard since I learned about my father's hypocrisy."

Diana Carpainter paced back and forth, taking quick, panicked breaths. She closed her eyes, but it didn't seem to help her calm down.

"I'm sorry that you two have to see me like this," Diana said. "I'm normally… stronger…"

"Diana!" Jeff said. "What's wrong? I mean, I know that this 'Giygas' is bad news, but-"

"You don't believe that he actually exists," Diana said. "You don't believe that the lord of evil depicted in the Osohe fairy tales could possibly be real."

"You're right," Jeff said, "It's hard for me to grasp."

"I can't blame you." Diana took a deep breath. "I just… have a history with Giygas. And I know exactly what Lucas is in for."

"Oh," Voice said, looking down at the floor. "Giygas is going to turn him into a savant again, huh? I know firsthand what that can do to someone."

"Hmm?" Jeff asked.

"A psionic savant can do nearly _anything_ with psionics _,_ " Voice said. "I turned myself into one to try and find a way to bring my loved ones back to life." His smile turned icy. "I wouldn't recommend it."

"Well, Lucas won't be as dangerous as you probably were, since he's a soulknife," Diana said. "But it won't be pretty, and he won't suffer any less."

"When someone becomes a savant, most of their brain power goes towards combat and psionics," Voice explained to Jeff. "If the process leaves the victim with a conscience, it is relegated to the back of their mind in a place called Magicant."

 _Magicant…_ Jeff thought. _So that's real as well?_

"I think that we should wait a bit before checking out anyone else," Diana said. "I'll need some time to come to grips with what Giygas' activity truly means for us."

"All right," Jeff said. "You would know more about him than I would."

The screens on the floor displaying Ninten and Ness disappeared, leaving only empty crystal behind.

* * *

After Lucas defeated the Revivalists and starmen, the Dalaamian King announced a celebration. It only took a few hours to set up; the Dalaamian government was efficient when they didn't let tradition rule their actions.

So Ana stood in front of the entrance to the Dalaamian Palace, flanked on either side by statues of elephants. She was expected to make an appearance, after all, and she knew that Dalaamians didn't take slights lightly.

"Ness," Ana said. "Are you sure that you don't want to come with me?"

Something about the way that Ness' head hung low made Ana want to cheer him up. If only she could figure out a consistent way how. Why couldn't emotions be clean and simple like math problems?

"I'm sorry," Ness said. "But after what happened to Lucas, I think that I'd just keep acting like this. It's better off if I stay behind."

As much as Ana hated to admit it, he was probably right. She didn't know if the creature that called itself "Giygas" was actually the mythical villain from Osohe fables, but it kidnapped Lucas nonetheless. Ana could tell that Ness had taken the blond child under his wing, so him losing Lucas would probably feel like Ana losing him. When she thought about it that way, Ness was dealing with the loss rather well. Ana would have been in hysterics if someone had taken Ness.

But not because she loved him. She never had and she never would. She would freak out because her precious plan for how life should work would fall to pieces. That was all that she could care about at this point.

"I wish that I could stay with you," Ana said. "I really do. But…"

"But the Dalaamians will see it as an insult if you don't show. I understand."

"I promise that I'll come back for you right after the celebration's over. Just hang in there, okay?"

Ness smiled, but it didn't make him look any happier. Ana kissed him on the lips. Just as she expected, the motion provoked no feelings of love. Her heart of ice couldn't deal with such a natural emotion.

Ana walked into the Dalaamian palace and made her way over to the celebration room. Contrary to her expectations, the room was filled with golden furnishings, beautiful paintings, and servants carrying around trays stacked with pyramids of food. Didn't the Dalaamians pride themselves on their restraint and lack of gluttony? The amount of alcohol and meat in the room made Ana question those claims.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, light but firm. She twisted her neck and came face to face with a figure in a black cloak. She tried to make out the features under his cowl but gleaned no information.

"Who might you be?" Ana asked. "If you're here for the celebration, you should probably have put on different clothing."

"Unfazed as always, I see." The figure spoke in a Dalaamian accent, but a lighter than one that Ana was used to. "I am not certain that is a good thing."

"Do I know you?" Ana asked.

The cloaked figure leaned in close and lifted up his cowl to allow more light in. Ana almost gasped when she recognized the face as Poo's. The Dalaamian Prince held a finger up to his mouth to shush her.

"How?" Ana asked. "Why are you here?"

"It is a long story," Poo said. "I ran into an old enemy back on Ceres. She captured me and Kumatora, but Kumatora escaped on her own Mr. Agerate saved me. I wanted to do some investigating on our own, though, and being missing provides an excellent opportunity for that. Mr. Agerate teleported me to the base of the mountain and I hiked up."

Ana blinked. Why hadn't she heard about any of this?

"I know it's a little hard to believe, but please trust me," Poo said. "I just arrived here, so I don't know what's going on, but… you might want to watch your back."

"I always do," Ana said.

"More than usual." Poo's eyes narrowed. "My Mu training allows me to sense general disturbances in the psionic realm, and I felt a massive one just a few hours ago. Be careful."

Poo started walking away. After a few steps, he turned back around.

"And please, don't tell anyone that I'm here. I would prefer for my location to remain unclear."

Poo dashed out of the room without making a noise. It was enough to make Ana wonder if she was hallucinating. She took a quick look around, spotting a few Dalaamians who were giving her curious looks. Did they see her talking with a mysterious figure, or did they witness her talking with herself?

"Hey, Ana," Paula said, cutting off Ana's train of thought.

Paula wore a traditional, ballroom dress instead of a psion's robes. Ana didn't know how she could stand those things; whenever Ana tried one on, it felt like she was being stuffed into a stiff doll costume. Besides, it turned even simple tasks like not bumping into tables into full-focus jobs.

"You look nice," Ana said.

"Oh, just trying not to look like a psion," Paula said, playing with her hair. "I wouldn't make a good representative for Ceres since I can't read political cues. And besides, the Dalaamians probably appreciate that I don't dress myself in the same style as the president and your parents. You know, they put a lot of value on age and experience. Really, looking like a silly little girl suits me well."

So, the choice _was_ thought-out. Maybe Paula was more socially savvy than Ana thought.

"Anyways," Paula continued. "I introduced myself to everyone, so I think I'm going to explore this castle a bit. I'm not a key representative of Ceres and Xiyen offered to give me a tour."

Ana paused. Was Ness right earlier in worrying that Xiyen would try to court Paula? She wouldn't really put it past Xiyen to pull something like that…

"All right," Ana said. "Enjoy yourself. I'll be here if you need anything from me."

"Thanks, Ana. I can see why Ness fell in love with you. You're always there whenever anyone needs help, and Ness is the same shy, dependent person as when I befriended him all those years ago." Paula smiled, and Ana didn't doubt its sincerity. "You're a really good influence on him, and I know that he appreciates everything that you do."

While most people would blush and awkwardly deny the compliment, Ana struggled not to bite her lip. Everything that she did, all of her kindness and support… It was all a lie. None of it came from her heart. She only continued because she was scared of what would happen if she took off the mask of the perfect little girl who cared for everyone.

"But don't forget that you're allowed to come to other people for help too," Paula said. "I think that Ninten's still worried about you, and to be honest…" Paula blushed. "I'm a little worried too. I don't want to pressure you, but I hope you know that we're all willing to let you lean on us. It's the least that we can do."

So this was about the incident back in Peaceful Rest Valley when she and Ninten discovered Ana's maladaptive behavior. Turns out that Paula was a hell of a lot better than Ninten at telling people that they needed help.

"I'll consider it," Ana said, covering up her lie with a smile. "Have a nice tour."

Paula nodded and walked away, holding herself more confidently than Ana could remember. It was only after Paula had left the room that Ana realized that she was digging into the skin of her palm with her fingernails. She pulled up her left sleeve and counted all of the scars from self-inflicted wounds. Ana turned back to the party, a wave of relief washing over her as she realized that nobody had really been paying attention to her conversation with Paula.

It was time to put on another show.

* * *

A few hours after watching Lucas getting kidnapped by Giygas, Jeff found himself staring at a screen on the floor as Prince Poo of Dalaam slid through the hallways of Royal Palace.

"What happened to Ms. Monotoli capturing him?" Poo asked Diana.

"Ah, sorry about that. He asked me not to tell." Diana frowned. "He wanted to investigate Dalaam's trouble with the Revivalists, but I don't know how he made it from the base of the mountain to Yazhou in just a few days. Guess he's in better shape than I thought."

"So Kumatora…"

"Is in Scaraba, apparently. She wanted to investigate rumors of uprisings. Besides, there are some… supernatural myths about that place. It might be connected to the Osohe."

 _Well,_ Jeff thought. _Looks like everyone was up to big things while I sat around moping._

"But I'm interested to see what happens next," Diana said. "Because I think I know why all of this happened. And if I'm right, we might be in for a bloody show."

* * *

"Wow," Xiyen said to Paula. "Do you Ceresians actually _wear_ stuff like that?"

"This is Eagleish, actually," Paula said. "Fashion like this was more common before the empire fell, I think."

"Why would anyone want to wear something so… bulky?" Xiyen asked. "I think I'd trip over the fabric and embarrass myself."

"Well, only girls wear dresses," Paula said with a shrug. "Eagleish boys just wear fancy robes when they want to dress up formal. But you said that you had a tour planned out?"

"Yes!" Xiyen said, his eyes lighting up. "This palace is amazing. Beautiful. I know this place well, since I spent a lot of my childhood here. There's just one teensy little problem."

"Which is…?"

"I'm technically not supposed to be doing this."

Paula rolled her eyes.

"At this point, I shouldn't even be surprised," she said.

"Well, it's only a problem if someone important catches us," Xiyen said. "Like I mentioned before, all of the nobles here kind of hate me for my birth status… but all of them are at the party, so it's okay."

"I'm starting to have second thoughts about this," Paula said. "It probably wouldn't look good on Ceres if someone caught you sneaking me around places."

"Like I said, it's only a problem if someone catches us."

"That really doesn't make me feel any better." Paula sighed. "But I guess I'm in. I don't have anything better to do."

"Wonderful," Xiyen said. "Then let's get this tour started!"

Xiyen led Paula through every nook and cranny in the Dalaamian Royal Palace. It wasn't big, at least by Eagleish standards (many buildings in Fourside dwarfed it), but its splendor made up for its unimposing size. He showed her paintings, memorials, sculptures, and hidden passages with more paintings, memorials, and sculptures. Most of them resembled people that Paula supposed were important in some way. After a while, she asked Xiyen what they all meant.

"Oh, I suppose you wouldn't know," he said. "Most of the art here depicts ancestors, either the king's or those of an important noble. I'm not sure if you've caught onto this, but we Dalaamians spent absurd amounts of time studying our lineage and honoring our ancestors."

"That's nice," Paula said. "It's probably better than worshipping money like we Eagleish tend to do."

"It's nice unless your parents conceived you in a shameful affair," Xiyen muttered. "Then it becomes an excuse for people to look down upon you."

"I'm sorry," Paula said. "I know that it must be so frustrating to have people look at you like dirt. I know that a part of you probably wants to please them, but you know that you can't and you really shouldn't have to. But that doesn't make you feel any better about the way that they treat you, right?"

"Exactly," Xiyen said, looking at Paula in surprise. "You know me better than I thought."

"I went through something similar," Paula said with a shrug. "My parents always wanted me to be more religious. And by that, I mean that they wanted me to accept their narrow view of what Christianity should be. It meant blaming the poor for their 'sloth' instead of helping them. It meant listening to rants about how sinful and pathetic we are instead of how much God loves us. It meant that I was being disrespectful and disobedient to God when I stood up to my parents and voiced my own opinions."

"That must be rough," Xiyen said.

"At the time, I didn't even notice it," Paula said. "I just accepted their views as my own. That's why going to school on Ceres was the best thing that ever happened to me. It made me realize that God is out there, but not the spiteful God that my parents see."

"So you're saying that for my situation, it's the judgment and narrow-mindedness that's the problem rather than the actual system of honoring one's ancestors?"

"Right. The Revivalists and even some people here in Yazhou take tradition to the extreme, but tradition itself isn't bad."

"I suppose," Xiyen said. "It's really interesting talking to you. We should do this more."

Once again, Paula felt herself blushing.

"Oh, I'm sure…"

"I mean it," Xiyen said. "You're one of the only people I've met who really tries to understand where I'm coming from. Empathy isn't a trait that Dalaamain society encourages, after all. I'll admit that part of the reason I took so much interest in you at the start was because you're foreign and attractive, but you're so much more than that."

Paula couldn't tell for certain, but she was suspected that her cheeks were reddening even further.

"I wish that we could talk more too," Paula said. "But I'll only be in Dalaam for so long. Besides, I have a boyfriend, so things might start to get a little awkward."

"Really," Xiyen said, his eyes widening. "And your boyfriend didn't come with you? I assume that he wasn't Lucas."

"No, he was travelling to Winters for another reason and I didn't want to come with him. I'm pretty good friends with Ana, so it worked out fine."

"I don't mean to sound rude, but it seems a little inconsiderate of him to just leave you behind like that."

"Well, one of the things that I admire about him is how he doesn't try to baby me. We both knew that I would be happy here in Dalaam with Ana and Ness, so he agreed to part ways. If there had actually been a problem with me coming here, we would have worked out another solution together."

"That is quite different than how things work here in Dalaam," Xiyen said. "The cultural barrier is thicker than I expected."

"Yeah, it's always interesting to learn about how people from around the world think about different issues," Paula said.

Xiyen nodded, looking up at the ceiling in contemplation. After a few seconds, his face tightened. He turned back to Paula with fire in his eyes.

"We have to go," he said.

"What did I-"

"Not you. I heard someone walk into the passageway."

"I thought this place was a secret."

"It was _supposed_ to be. Follow me."

Xiyen lead Paula into another offshoot secret corridor filled with even more cobwebs and tattered paintings.

"This one doesn't lead to anything," Xiyen said. "So whoever's coming won't think to come over here."

Paula nodded and stayed still, scared that even a slight movement would give herself away. She shot a nervous glance at Xiyen, who tried to reassure her with a smile. As Paula waited, she could hear the footsteps coming closer. The two sets of footsteps eventually transitioned into two voices.

"Are you sure about this, General Kim?" The voice carried a Ceresian accent rather than a Dalaamian one.

"Of course I am sure. It was all part of Master Giygas' plans. Just do your part of the job and I'll do mine."

"Oh, he's 'Master' Giygas now? I thought that you Revivalists were only putting up with the creature."

Paula's heart skipped a beat. She had heard of General Kim before, and she knew that he stood at the head of Dalaam's royal army. She could laugh off the name of Giygas all she wanted, but hearing that he was part of the Revivalists who were originally trying to take Yazhou spelled bad news.

No, it spelled worse than bad news. The one man who commanded the largest army in the vicinity was their enemy. Paula needed to tell someone about this.

"I flip between adding on the title of 'Master' and not when I refer to him," General Kim said. "Titles are largely meaningless, anyways."

"True, true…"

"Besides, don't some of you empirists worship Giygas?"

Wait, so the Ceresian woman was an empirist? Dealing with a new Revivalist force was bad enough without the empirists involved.

"Some do," the woman said. "I think it's bullshit. But a universe under his rule can't be worse than one under Minerva's."

"Ah, I see," Kim said. "Well, I wish to stay in this little passage for a while longer. You go ahead and enact your plan, all right?"

"It's already enacted. Are you sure that you don't want to witness it?"

"I might. But I have some rats to take care of first."

"Rats? If you say so…"

Paula heard a set of footsteps walking away. Her heart was beating so loudly that she was legitimately concerned about General Kim hearing it. All that she needed to do was wait this out and…

"You still don't get it, do you?" General Kim asked. "I know where you are."

Xiyen's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. To their credit, both he and Paula managed to stay silent.

"No?" General Kim asked. "All right, then…"

Paula heard his footsteps on the stone floor. Each one brought him closer to their location. It almost made it worse that he was walking. At least if he charged at them then Paula could pretend that it was a battle instead of a game of cat and mouse. Still, she and Xiyen stayed still. Maybe he sensed someone else? Doubtful, but Paula didn't have a way to escape, so she latched onto any bit of stealth she could find.

General Kim emerged into the side passageway where Paula and Xiyen stood. He possessed the standard Dalaamian appearance with black eyes and hair, but unlike most Dalaamians he didn't bother to mask his facial expression. He smiled at Paula and Xiyen in a patronizing way, as if to say "It was cute that you tried to hide from me."

"Well, well, well," General Kim said. "That _is_ an expression that you foreigners say, yes? It makes no sense to me. Why three wells? Why does one not suffice? But I'm rambling. I didn't expect to find you here with a Ceresian psion, bastard, but I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised."

Wait. How did General Kim know that Paula was a psion? She wore a dress instead of psion's robes specifically to hide that fact. Did Dalaamian citizens report to him about how she had blasted a few Revivalists?

"Well, you caught me," Xiyen said, crossing his arms over his chest. "What now?"

"You know too much," General Kim said. "Mind thrust."

Paula gasped in disbelief as Xiyen stiffened and crumpled to the ground. She knelt down next to him and checked for a pulse.

Nothing.

 _No,_ she thought. _No no no! He… couldn't have died so easily, so simply. Dalaamians aren't supposed to know psionics; how did General Kim use mind thrust? None of this makes any sense. Xiyen, please don't die on me!_

"It's so easy to end a life," General Kim said, looking at his own hand in awe. "With these powers, I can do almost anything that I want."

"You _monster!_ " Paula shouted. "You… you…!"

"I killed," General Kim said. "You've done it before. Did you stop to think about all of the Revivalists that you roasted with your PK Fire? Each one of them was just as deep and complex as Xiyen."

"They were murdering and pillaging!" Paula screamed. "Xiyen did nothing wrong."

"He didn't, but I do not give a single shit about his life," General Kim said. "That's what you foreigners say, yes?"

"I thought that you Revivalists called psionics witchcraft," Paula said, looking into Xiyen's glazed eyes. "And yet you used it to kill him!"

"Yes, yes we do," General Kim said. "Because we fear what we don't understand, and psionics are about the most complicated thing there is in this universe. But I am not held back by fear." He chuckled. "I'm not held back by anything."

"I can't believe you," Paula said. "You don't feel _any_ remorse?"

"Not in the slightest. I save remorse for when I hurt people that I care about. Besides, it was partly your fault. Your aura lead me straight to him."

Paula covered her ears in an attempt to drone out General Kim's laughter.

"But I shall waste no more time talking to a foreigner. Have a nice afterlife… not that I really care if you do or not."

As General Kim raised a hand, a starman teleported right behind him. Paula forced herself not to go into a panic attack when she saw the devilish alien. Death was a mercy compared to what they had done with her. Still, she had dealt with them when they attacked Dalaam; she could keep herself calm now.

 _"Kim See-Yoon,"_ the starman transmitted. _"Master Giygas requests your immediate presence."_

"But I just need to-"

 _"Now."_

General Kim shot a glare at Paula.

"Mind thrust. Teleport."

As the Dalaamian General vanished from sight, followed by the starman, Paula felt a headache unlike one that she had ever experienced before. She could almost imagine her brain being squeezed together until it splatted against the inside of her skull. She dropped to the floor and writhed in pain. Her psionic stall would keep her alive for several seconds.

"Lifeup," she whispered, healing all injuries.

After a few seconds, Paula's head cleared. She knew that the starman's intervention was the only thing that kept her alive, but she didn't feel lucky. Before she fully realized it, she was curled up into a ball and sobbing.

Once again, she had done nothing helpful. General Kim killed Xiyen in an instant and Paula had done _nothing_ to stop him. On top of that, she was only alive because of sheer, dumb luck. She couldn't control anyone's fate, not even her own. Everything had been taken from her.

 _No,_ she thought. _I have one thing left._

Paula touched the cross that she always wore around her neck. Then she prayed.

* * *

Ana Aniah walked over to the spot where her parents were chatting with Minerva Carpainter. Ana's stomach threatened to heave up all of its juices at the sight of seeing the president, but Ana figured that she should at least make a good appearance.

Unlike the rest of the celebration, which was marked by traditional Dalaamian food (Ana had never before seen so much rice in her life), a tray of cookies was placed on a table right next to the Ceresians. Who the psych brought cookies to a Dalaamian celebration?

"Oh, there she is!" Megan said, smiling as Ana walked up. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Careful, mom," Ana said. "We don't want the Dalaamians to think that we Ceresians can't control our emotions."

"She has you there, Megan," Adam said.

"Both of you don't appreciate my genuine nature," Megan said, turning her nose up in parody of Ceresian nobles.

"It's nice to see you again, Ana," Minerva Carpainter said. "Thank you for your valuable role in stopping the Dalaamian rebels."

Ana looked into Minerva's eyes and saw a twinge of guilt. Was the president only now starting to develop a conscience?

"Mm," Megan said, taking a bite out of a cookie. "These are good. You don't like oatmeal raisin cookies, do you?"

"Does _anyone_ like oatmeal raisin cookies?" Ana asked.

"Delicious," Adam said, breaking off a part of a cookie and eating it. "It's too bad that you can't appreciate their taste."

"I don't particularly like them either," Minerva said, smiling at Ana, "But these ones look innocent enough."

Minerva picked up one of the cookies and started munching on it.

"It's a nice break from all of this Dalaamian food," Minerva said. "Although raisins do taste pretty awful."

"Thanks for the compliment, boss," Megan said, rolling her eyes.

"Are you sharing these with the Dalaamians?" Ana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, not really," Adam said. "We don't want to risk them not liking it. Who knows? They might have taste buds like yours."

Ana exchanged a confused look with Minerva. The Dalaamians seemed a whole lot _more_ likely to get offended by Ana's parents not offering to share in the first place. From what Ana had observed, the Dalaamians weren't afraid to politely refuse food that they didn't want, so there was no danger in offering the cookies to them.

"Ana," Minerva said. "What do you think about this place? It's quite… different from Ceres, isn't it? Yet at its core, we share more in common with these Dalaamians than many would expect."

 _I hate it,_ Ana thought. _Everyone's like me. They all wear masks of politeness that drown out any semblance of personality. It reminds me too much of my own psyching issues._

"Well, it's hard to tell too much from brief introductions, especially considering how reserved these Dalaamians seem to be," Ana said. "But it's more complicated than I expected. It confuses me how they say their family name first."

"Right," Minerva said. "It took me a while to get used to that as well."

 _I'm genuinely confused,_ Ana thought. _Minerva's normally polite to me, but only to put up an act in front of my parents. Why is she taking it this far? Does she actually want to… bond with me?_

Ana barely stopped herself from laughing. For a second, she had forgotten how this woman had ravaged the planet of Aphrodite with nuclear bombs. Such a cold-hearted person probably barley understood the _idea_ of social bonds.

"And there was one person I met whose name was Mori Haruki," Ana continued. "He seemed to think it was rather important that he came from an island off the coast of mainland Dalaam instead of the continent itself."

"Yeah, Dalaam has a pretty bloody history, and that island was a lot of the focus," Minerva said. "While Dalaam was technically unified almost 1000 years ago, some cultures didn't assimilate without a fight. General Kim is from a different part of the continent that _really_ didn't get along well with the rest of Dalaam. A lot of people there are still quite bitter about being forced to join the Dalaamian kingdom. It's good that you pick up on these things."

 _Hmph,_ Ana thought. _Is she still trying to prepare me for a leadership position in the Ceresian government? I thought she would have learned her lesson after breaking me the first time._

"Don't worry," Minerva said, as if reading Ana's thoughts. "I won't force any of this on you in the future. Now if you'll all excuse me, the Dalaamian King and I have victory speeches to give."

As Minerva walked away, Ana found herself questioning what she knew about that woman. Maybe President Carpainter was like her sister, aware that she had committed atrocious crimes but trying to make up for her mistakes. It was so strange how a little bit of compassion on Minerva's part made Ana look at her in an entirely new light.

The room fell silent as the Dalaamian King stood up from his seat. Ana still didn't know his real name; everyone simply referred to him as "the king." Judging by his age, Ana didn't know how he could have possibly fathered Poo 15 years ago. Even back then, he would have already been well past midlife. His skin sagged and he struggled to stand, but he didn't bother to use a cane. Was that supposed to be a sign of fortitude?

"Tonight," the king said in Eagleish, "We celebrate a victory over the rebels who threaten to send the nation of Dalaam into chaos. This triumph comes largely due to the aid of Ceres, a planet which we generally regard as hostile. But tonight, they are our allies against the Revivalists and the starmen!"

The king sat back down in his chair. Ana noticed that nobody clapped; was that a cultural difference or did nobody appreciate the king's speech? Ana scanned the room and saw only a sea of polite faces. All approval or disapproval had been shoved behind their masks.

It wasn't so different from Ana herself.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Minerva Carpainter said, stepping forward right next to the king. "Your king brings up a valid point. While Ceres as the heart of the empire sought to restrict and oppress, Ceres of the new world democracy only wishes to welcome Dalaam with open arms. I know that my planet has treated yours quite poorly in the past, but now is the time to band together and face a common evil. Now is the time to…" Minerva paused, her face turning pale. "Now is the…"

Minerva stumbled forward and fell to her hands and knees, gasping for air. Her grabbed onto a table and forced herself to her feet, shaking uncontrollably.

"Poisoned," she said. "But how? Why? None of you seem to be…" Minerva's eyes widened as she looked towards Ana.

It wasn't until Ana heard a pair of _thumps_ right next to her that she realized that her parents were on their hands and knees, also convulsing.

"God… _psyching…_ damn," Megan said. "What in the universe…?"

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Minerva said. "It was those cookies, wasn't it? I recognize these symptoms. It's the strain of TaneTane mushrooms so dangerous that a drop can kill even a psion."

"Never… heard of them," Adam wheezed.

"We're all fucked!" Minerva shouted. "It's not like we can heal our way out of this and there's no known antidote, so tell the goddamn truth!"

Minerva flung a fireball from her hands. Ana barely leapt out of the way before it detonated, engulfing both of her parents. With their psionic auras, they didn't even receive mild burns.

"You psyching traitors!" Minerva flung another fireball at them. "You…"

"Stop attacking my parents!" Ana shouted. "They didn't do anything wrong!"

"Oh?" Minerva asked, turning her furious gaze towards Ana. "We were the only three people who ate the cookies, and guess who's dying right now? Oh, us!"

"I don't know who poisoned the cookies," Ana said. "But it wasn't them. I can tell when they're lying, and they aren't right now."

Ana watched out of the corner of her eye as most of the Dalaamian nobles backed away from both her and Minerva. She couldn't blame them one bit.

"Please…" Megan said. "Read our minds. We don't have a mind shield to block you."

Minerva closed her eyes and pursed her lips. After a pause, she growled in what Ana assumed was frustration.

"Damn," Minerva said, opening her eyes. "You're really telling the truth. So how did those cookies get poisoned?"

"I can tell you that," came a voice from the entrance of the room. "I persuaded them to poison the cookies and wiped their memories afterwards. It's _so_ much easier to pull off when they don't even know what part they play."

The hair on Ana's back stood up straight. Even before she looked towards the entrance to the celebration room, she could tell who it was by that flippant yet sickly sweet voice.

"I am going to psyching murder you, Morgan," Ana muttered under her breath.

Ana turned and looked Morgan Lorune straight in the eye. The empirist wore a smug smile as she twirled a single strand of hair around her finger.

"Oh, Minerva," Morgan said in a patronizing tone. "Where's the hello for your dear old friend?"


	37. Chapter 32: How the Mighty Bleed

**Sorry, guys. I was so tired yesterday that I forgot to post the chapter, even though I wrote out the AN and review responses and everything. What you see below is what I wrote yesterday:**

 **Hey, everyone. :) Still no more progress on actual writing; I might have to take a break after I'm done with this fic to just crank some chapters out for the final installment. That will probably be better than having to balance writing and editing (not that my editing is super great haha).**

 **Anyways, I'm tired from doing vacation stuff with my family (for me, most activities are more mentally than physically straining because I'm always super focused on trying to fix my form and stuff), so if I sound totally dead or make a bunch of mistakes that's why.**

 **Important-ish** **note: It's been revealed (although I don't know how many of you guys remember this) that Dr. Andonuts has an alter ego named Pan Lorune and is Morgan's brother. This chapter, it is revealed that *spoilers* Dr. Andonuts is actually insane and suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. This is a disclaimer that I know how schizophrenia does _not_ split a person into multiple identities. Dr. Andonuts and Pan Lorune are like Mr. Agerate and Diana Carpaitnter. The alter ego is a disguise only and has nothing to do with schizophrenia. So hopefully I won't get a bunch of angry reviewers trying to correct me on this one. **

**Also, I watched Finding Nemo recently (because my mom had never seen it before), and after doing research on writing and stuff I realized that Finding Nemo is basically a thriller in terms of its plot progression. There's always another chase or attempted escape scene around the corner to keep that heart rate up. xD Still, it was better than I remembered it, even though I don't like thrillers.**

 **And I beat Xenoblade Chronicles! Hopefully I won't get distracted as often now.**

 **I think that's all I have to say. I should probably write the review responses before I drift off to sleep.**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** I mean, Minerva's a pretty vulgar and unstable person. ;) Paranoia tends to happen to people who are often targets (such as presidents like Minerva), and Morgan's a pretty vengeful person, yeah. Yep, Morgan was the one talking to General Kim. Yes, yes, Jeff is going to play a bigger role later in the story, although direct combat isn't much of his thing. Yeah, Voice is a character from City of Progress, and he plays a pretty large role there. Basically, he's Lucas from Mother 3 who travels over to the City of Progress universe where he gets his body hijacked by the Lucas from that universe. It gets complicated. Ah, you're welcome! :) And thanks for sticking with me through all this time! See you! :D

 **PKtofuMaster:** Yep, the cast needed a little thinning out because it was getting too bulky. :( I still managed to introduce quite a few new characters in what I've written of Ceres 3, though. Ah, thanks! I was scared for as second because when someone says "To be absolutely honest..." they usually follow it up with something super harsh. Well, I didn't see the scene with his mother coming either; so I guess it took us both by surprise. :) Yep, Claus angst and I needed to get OP Lucas away from the scene for what happens next... ;) The metal spherical object is a reference to the way that Giygas appears in Mother 1/EB Beginnings. I thought that it would make sense for Giygas' physical body to appear that way. Yeah, sometimes loose plots go well, but sometimes they take a turn for the horrible. I ended up writing a scene that made no sense at all (as in character X doing something OoC just to move the plot along) and just decided to ignore it. I still need to rewrite it, actually...

College orientation was okay. I signed up for classes, which is nice. I'm kicking myself for not having taken the AP Chem test, though... it would have gotten me out of a full 12 credits required for my major and made it so that I could take creative writing classes my freshman year. They only let me place out of one term of Bio. :( And thanks; the writing anxiety does seem to come and go without reason. I wonder if I pushed myself too hard in the period where I wrote 5-8k words consistently every day (seems like an impossible feat now haha). I wouldn't say that I'm mentally stronger than you, though. Lack of mental fortitude is one of my greatest weaknesses (along with the complete inability to multitask). There weren't any high placing Lucases in Smash 4, but Hyperflame got 4th in Project M. My college starts in September, so I'll have time to finish all of this fanfiction stuff up (hopefully).

 **DarkFoxKit:** Yep, Morgan's one sneaky schemer. Yep, same Voice from City of Progress. He's not doing a whole lot, but since he can travel between universes and stuff I thought that it would be cool to put him in here. Especially since he's the restless type and still follows the happenings of the physical realm while most spirits stop caring after a while. Don't fear; the cliffhanger is (pretty much) resolved in this chapter. :)

 **PSIBoy:** Yep, the ending sequence for this fic is initiating and hopefully it turns out well. :) Yeah, those psions aren't super important to the story. They mostly exist to provide exposition and bring up the distrust between psions stuck in situations where they're no harder to kill than a regular person. Yeah, Giygas basically admitted to luring Lucas in, and we'll see if any of the others have global plans and traps. I will say that a group of teenagers aren't the primary targets for such an elaborate scheme, though. :) Yeah, Gerardo's death wasn't really supposed to be emotional, which is probably why you criticized Xiyen's death more. Yep, Poo is just a little too slow. But he'll get his time in the spotlight soon enough. Yeah, Xiyen's death is supposed to feel a little pointless. While psions play their games and move their pawns, innocent people with deep motivations and compelling stories get brushed away like insects. I should have probably made that sense of unfairness more clear in the chapter and I'll try to touch on it in later chapters. Thanks; it's good for me to hear that. :)

Really? The worst cliffhanger in a while? I thought it wasn't that bad considering that Minerva is quite clear about hers and the Aniahs' chances of survival. Yeah, I needed a poison that could kill off a psion like that (because I need to remove Minerva from the story; she provides too much stability to the universe to make things interesting), so I just tacked it onto the Tanetane mushroom. Yep, I wanted to set up the mushrooms with Morgan going to decent lengths to get them first so that it didn't seem too out of the blue. True, Morgan's not really in a great mental state right now, to the point that calling her "insane" might be an insult to people with actual afflictions such as schizophrenia. See you! :)

 **crabbyTomato:** Yeah, multiple universes can work as a story mechanic but even then it's best not to delve in too deeply. Yep, I'm beginning to see what you mean about how closing out a fic is way harder than starting one. I haven't dealt with anything nearly as large as Ceres before, so it's a little more daunting. In City of Progress, the ending scenes were about 2-3 chapters. In Ceres, it could be a whole 10-15 chapters of tying all the loose ends together (Giygas, LOVE, the knives, the Osohe, ect). Yeah, Ana's character is... interesting. Although I honestly feel like most people tend to see others (even loved ones) as parts of personal plans for themselves (more or less). The rest of us just aren't pin-pointing every time we enjoy feeling competent while trying to help others. I could be wrong, though.

Yeah, I pictured a Victorian dress myself... I'm basing a lot of old-fashioned Eagleland on stereotypes from Victorian culture (and I don't think _anyone_ liked that time period haha). Yeah, that was kind of the point. I wanted to show how easily he could just... die. And there was the fact that General Kim probably wouldn't let him live logically, given his character. Yep, Dalaam is basically Southeast Asia with a stronger Chinese influence than anything else. And honestly, I just thought of "Mori Haruki" as a general Japanese name. I didn't put a lot of thought into that line. "Screw Minerva, really." I can't stop laughing at that line. It's like you're saying "Oh yeah. Her. Well, I don't really care." See you! :)

* * *

 _But at the same time, I know that I can't live forever. So what happens when I die? My nuclear warheads are specifically designed so that I can reach out through the psionic realm and control them. Only people with PSI vision can do this, so it's either me or Diana. After we're gone, nobody will hold the starmen back._

 _Basically, Giygas is free to invade our homes after I die. So why do I keep holding on? It's going to happen eventually. Maybe I should just let go and die._

 _After all, my happiest moment of my life will probably be my last._

* * *

"Hey guys," Voice said, floating around the room in the Shard where Jeff and Diana stood. "I know that you guys are kind of busy, but-"

"Hold it," Jeff said, looking at the screen on the floor.

The Shard's floor displayed a third person view from behind Poo, cloaked and unrecognizable. He stood over the still body of another Dalaamian youth about his age, and Jeff could make out sounds of quiet weeping from the Prince of Dalaam. The cobwebs and dim lighting only added to the dark tone of the scene.

"I think that's Poo's half-brother Xiyen," Diana Carpainter said. "But how did he die? The corpse looks new, but I can't see any wounds on his body."

"Ahem," Voice said, bobbing up and down in front of Jeff and Diana. "I might be able to help. The Shard sometimes tells me things that it wants its visitors to know."

 _But is it in our best interest to see what the Shard wants us to?_ Jeff asked. _From what I've heard, this place is designed to shatter and scar the people who come here._

"Diana," Voice said. "You may want to check on your sister."

Diana's face paled, although she showed no other reaction. Minerva was at Yazhou, right? If people like Xiyen were getting killed, then it might not spell good news for the President of Ceres. Not danger to her physically, Jeff assumed (for she was essentially invincible), but maybe danger to her mental health or political negotiations?

"All right, Shard," Diana said. "Would you please show me what's happening to Minerva Carpainter?"

The ground changed from showing Poo weeping over Xiyen's corpse to what looked like a party. Festive decorations lined the walls; piles of food lay out on tables. Minerva Carpainter stood at the head of the largest table, her face pale and her limbs shaking. It took a couple seconds for Jeff to truly believe Minerva's frail appearance; what in the universe could weaken her like that?

"Oh my god," Voice said. "TaneTane mushroom poison. Most of them are hallucinogenic, but a rare strand leaves-"

"You don't have to tell me," Diana said, her voice shaking. "I figured out recently that Morgan Lorune killed my father with that poison. There's no way to survive once you've ingested it. My sister is dying."

"But I thought that you hated her," Voice said.

"I don't like how she blew up Aphrodite and created a psionic savant with the potential to kill us all, but I still love her." Diana bit her lip. "When I was growing up in my father's cult, she was the only person who cared about me. It kills me to see her so small and afraid…"

"Do you want to teleport over and help her?" Jeff asked. "Even if it just means saying a few last words to her, I don't think that either one of us can judge."

"It's Shard prohibits teleportation," Diana said. "I would have to take the long way out if I wanted to reach my sister. Even without the differences in oxygen levels from here to Yazhou that would damage my brain if I teleported, I wouldn't be able to reach Minerva before she dies. If she's starting to show symptoms now, she won't last another five minutes."

 _Divine Rulers,_ Jeff thought. _What would it be like to see someone you love die right before your eyes while you know that there's nothing that you can do? I have no idea what I would do…_

 _But then again, I'm not really close with anyone to begin with._

"And Jeff," Voice said. "You might want to check on your dad."

Jeff's heart skipped a beat. Was Dr. Andonuts on the brink of death as well? If so, Jeff wasn't sure that he wanted to know.

"I don't think he's hurt," Voice said. "But she _really_ thinks that you'll want to know what he's doing."

 _Who is "she?"_ Jeff thought. _But I guess I'd never be able to forgive myself if I missed this, regardless._

"Okay," Jeff said, walking up to the stained glass pillar in the middle of the room. "Would you please show me what Dr. Andonuts is doing?"

Jeff felt his heart pounding in his chest as the section of the floor started to morph into a scene inside Dr. Andonuts' lab. It showed…

* * *

Ninten entered Dr. Andonuts' lab. Inside, papers lay scattered across the floor. Chemicals bubbled on the floor next to shards of shattered glass. Random scribbles and angrily drawn circles of chalk stood out on the blackboard in the back of the room.

In short, the lab looked like a complete wreck. And in the middle of the mess stood Dr. Andonuts itself.

"Ah, more visitors!" the scientist said. "I didn't think that you would choose to come back so soon, Claus. Did you miss me?"

"What the psych is this place?" Claus said. "It was messy when I came here, but not like _this._ "

Claus crumpled up a piece of paper and tossed it into a puddle of chemical solution to prove his point. The ball of paper sizzled and dissolved until nothing remained.

"You see the result of an unbalanced mind," Dr. Andonuts said. "It's been a struggle to stay healthy all of these years, but I think I finally pushed myself over the edge."

"Do you want us to help you?" Ninten asked.

"You couldn't if you tried." Dr. Andonuts barked a laugh. "I don't think you understand what I mean, Ninten. It's still a struggle for you to escape your past, and you had it easier than I did."

"What makes you so sure?" Ninten asked.

"We're the same!" Dr. Andonuts said. "I can see it inside of you, Ninten. The rage. The hate. The fear. The weariness. You want to save this universe, but you know that you can't possibly fight so much hatred. So eventually, you turn into one of the people you despise."

"That's everyone," Claus said. "The difference is that we chose to stand up and fight while you're messing around with devices over here."

"My _inventions_ improved millions of lives," Dr. Andonuts said. "The portable telecommunicators that I made allow people to contact their loved ones from hundreds of miles away. My televisions bring entertainment to the poor. Not everyone can afford plays, you know. And what have _you_ done, ginger? Do you honestly buy into the Aphroditian bullshit that we should only live for our community rather than concerning ourselves with bigger issues? Genocides are allowed to happen when people ignore the world outside their little village."

"I don't," Claus said. "But if inventing is the way that you help the world, then keep going. What I see here doesn't exactly look like a creative environment."

"But I can't," Dr. Andonuts said. "And I don't think that you care very much about me anyways. Why _are_ you two here? Oh wait, I can just read your minds."

Ninten gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected things to go so poorly right off the bat. What would Dr. Andonuts say once he knew their goal?

"…The knives, hmm?" The scientist asked. "Ah, you have Phonus! But why do you want the other two? You don't even know what they can do once you get all three."

Ninten and Claus exchanged a glance. Was Dr. Andonuts crazy, or did he actually know about a special power that required all three knives?

"Ah, I see," Dr. Andonuts said. "These knives have sentimental value to you. Oh, look, you don't trust me with Osohe artifacts. There's the kicker."

"So," Claus said. "How about it? I don't think we have much to trade, but I'm sure that we can arrange something."

"Trade? For priceless artifacts? I don't think you understand, Claus. These are _mine,_ and they hold sentimental value for me as well. Having them here reminds me that there is a worse fate than insanity."

 _The psionic essences…_ Ninten thought. _My great-grandmother Mary is trapped inside of Dynaldas. It's got to be agonizing to find yourself trapped inside of a crystal like a living amber fossil._

"Well fine," Claus said. "But they're ours, so please give them back."

Dr. Andonuts broke into scornful laughter.

"Now _that's_ funny," he said. "Killing opponents on the battlefield is okay, but stealing their stuff is totally wrong?"

Claus frowned, and Ninten could see the gears turning inside of his head. Considering his self-proclaimed insanity, Dr. Andonuts could put up one psych of an argument. Or maybe Claus and Ninten were just stupid.

"Listen," Ninten said. "We wish to reach a compromise that works for both of us. I understand that the knives mean a lot to you, but they also mean a lot to us. Please, Claus' mom is stuck inside one of those knives."

"And my grandmother is stuck inside the other," Dr. Andonuts said.

Ninten blinked. Were he and the mad scientist… related? After all, Mary was _his_ great-grandmother. And that would explain how Dr. Andonuts knew Morgan so well; maybe they were cousins or siblings.

"So what about it?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "Are you willing to kill someone to get what you want, knowing that Morgan and I spared both of you when you were in our power?"

When Dr. Andonuts phrased it that way, Ninten wasn't nearly so sure.

"Claus," Ninten said. "We don't _need_ those knives, right? I'm starting to think that it might be better to leave him alone."

"And give up on our mission?" Claus asked. "What about getting our family back?"

"You gave up on your mission to kill Lucas, right? I saw you two chatting with each other back in Onett. Sometimes, we just need to let it go."

Claus clenched his fists, his eyes scanning the dysfunctional lab.

"And do you trust him with Osohe artifacts?" he asked.

"I don't," Ninten said. "But intervening now might just make things worse… And I'm not about to kill him just because he stands in my way. I learned from my mistakes."

"My father would be proud," Dr. Andonuts said. "The poor fool gave up his life for you to learn that lesson. I don't think anyone else would have made that trade."

 _Boras is his father?_ Ninten thought. _That means he must be Morgan's brother. So why do they look so different?_

"Dr. Andonuts," Claus said, turning back to the inventor. "I don't think that I can let myself leave this place empty-handed. Not after what I've seen. Somebody needs to step in and get you back on your feet."

"And that person is you?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "Don't make me laugh. You two are already barely holding your own lives together. Just leave me alone and forget that I ever existed."

"That's the exact thing that I can't do!" Claus shouted. "It's what Minerva wants everyone to do about Aphrodite. About my _home_."

"Are you sure, Claus?" Ninten asked. "If he doesn't want us to step in…"

"Yes, I'm sure! We have to help him. We can't pretend like someone else will solve the situation if we can't; nobody else is going to pass through this godforsaken place."

"And stealing my property will help me how, exactly?" Dr. Andonuts asked.

"We need to teach you how to care about people instead of weapons."

"But you can't," Dr. Andonuts said. "I am an outcast. Nobody else understands me because nobody else has seen what I have."

Dr. Andonuts walked back over to what looked like a metal statue depicting an alien out of a children's book. The statue consisted of a spherical body, stubby legs, a bulbous nose with whiskers, and a ribbon.

The section of the floor that held both the statue and Dr. Andonuts started to rise, supported by a triad of metal wires. After a few seconds, the patch of ground rose far above Ninten's head.

"This is the work of psionic engineering," Dr. Andonuts said, gesturing at the raised ground that he stood on. "You can't reach me up here. And more importantly, you can't reach my most dangerous invention."

"You mean the phase distorter?" Claus asked. "I thought you said that it doesn't do anything."

Ninten raised an eyebrow.

"The thingy behind him," Claus explained, "That looks like it came out of a picture book."

"Well, I lied," Dr. Andonuts said. "The phase distorter does a lot of things. The user can travel through time, if he or she wishes. It's something that I promised myself not to mess with."

"Are you serious?" Ninten said. "That's too psyching dangerous to keep around!"

"I call it my invention, but I really just polished it off," Dr. Andonuts said. "The Osohe made the actual machine, and I can't destroy it. I suppose that I could have teleported it to the bottom of the sea, but I became curious. Soon, I discovered that I could look into alternate dimensions."

"And you're sure that isn't part of your insanity?" Claus asked.

"Yes. I actually do experience both auditory and visual hallucinations, but I've learned to distinguish the real from the fake." Dr. Andonuts shivered. "Living with schizophrenia is something else. It puts me in a state of constant paranoia. I know that you two both fear certain people. You've probably felt a tingling sense that they were… right… behind you."

Ninten barely resisted the urge to look behind him. His father and grandfather would _not_ torment him any longer, psych it!

"I can see that you understand what I mean." Dr. Andonuts' lips formed a bloodless smile. "Now image that you _always_ felt that way. I always see knives lurking around corners and monsters hiding in the shadows. Just imagine going through your entire life never being able to truly relax because your instincts keep telling you that someone's standing right outside your door with an axe. That is the curse of paranoia."

"Why bother explaining it to us?" Ninten asked. "I thought that nobody could ever understand you."

"You're right; I should not have gone off on that tangent." Dr. Andonuts walked circles around the phase distorter on his suspended platform. "But the point is that I can distinguish real from fake. For a time, I calmed the voices in my head. Schizophrenia has a genetic component, you know. I would watch out if I were you, Ninten. But back to the point…" Dr. Andonuts halted. "The alternate dimensions that I saw through the phase distorter were real. I saw their fates over the millennia of their existences. Many universes were quite similar to ours. I saw one where you became the psionic savant instead of your brother, Claus."

"And what?" Ninten said. "Did they all meet tragic ends? Did that make you sad?"

"No, actually. In fact, many of them experienced long times of peace and prosperity. But as I looked through the dimensions, I started to see strange patterns. I synthesized all of the data that I gathered, and all of the universes that I study have uncanny similarities. They all have some form of psionics, and many people with the same personalities pop up in different universes where it makes no sense. It's almost like… someone is pushing on the fabric of the universe itself."

Ninten frowned. He was more inclined to attribute all of Dr. Andonuts' findings to insanity, regardless of the scientist's confidence about his ability to distinguish real from false.

"There are other patterns so subtle that I don't quite know how to describe them. Every time I look into another universe, I can almost _see_ an invisible hand pulling on strings, aligning events so that they work out in the way that it wishes. People say that the world's a stage, and just like in a play we're given predetermined lines."

"And you think that it applies to our universe as well?" Claus asked. "That there's some mastermind nudging us towards some sort of goal?"

"Exactly," Dr. Andonuts said. "But it doesn't matter if I'm right or not, since we might not survive the hour. You can sense them too, can't you?"

Now that he mentioned it, Ninten could detect a mass of distant psionic auras besides Claus' (he assumed that Amourus masked Dr. Andonuts' aura). A few seconds later, several dozen starmen appeared in the laboratory, firing off lasers.

"Here they come!" Dr. Andonuts shouted, waving Dynaldas and Amourus in the air. "They sense the presence of all three knives in one place, and they want to make sure that it doesn't stay that way."

 _So something dangerous happens when the three knives are held together?_ Ninten thought. _He made a similar comment before, but it could still be a ruse…_

"So you didn't call these starmen yourself?" Claus asked, unslinging his sword.

"Maybe I did," Dr. Andonuts said. "What does it matter to you?"

Ninten looked down the army of starmen in front of him. Now was not the time to ponder the meaning of the attack.

Now was the time to fight for his life.

* * *

After Morgan's entrance, the king and other Dalaamian nobles flooded out through another exit in the room.

"Call weapon," Ana hissed, a massive axe made of green ectoplasm appearing in her hand.

"This is too psyching perfect," Morgan said, smiling at Minerva. "The greatest schemer of all gets caught in another's web."

"Ugh… what the psych?" Megan asked, grabbing onto a table and standing up. "We never poisoned those goddamn cookies."

"Didn't I say that I wiped your memory?" Morgan said. "What happened yesterday at noon?"

"Don't know," Adam said, standing up alongside his wife. "It's like there's a hole whenever I try to think about it."

It killed Ana to see her parents so weak. All of her life, she knew that she could rely on them if something ever went wrong. But here they were now: pale, shaking, and hardly able to stay standing. She walked over to support them and saw the fear in their eyes. Psions lived with the knowledge that they were extremely difficult to kill. Whenever they got themselves into a dangerous situation, they could just teleport away and stall any lethal damage until later.

But for Megan and Adam Aniah, there was nowhere left to run.

"That's when I poisoned the cookies," Morgan said. "And you two _let_ me erase your memories so that Minerva wouldn't be able to read your minds and tell. You _knew_ that you would die, but you did it anyway."

"Heh," Minerva said. "It's probably true. She isn't powerful enough to erase your memories by force. Besides, this was how she killed my father, so I'm sure that she had the process perfected."

"No!" Megan said. "We wouldn't betray you! Listen to me, Minerva. I'm your psyching friend! We share so many good memories… Tell me why I would ever want to give you up!"

Ana looked into her mother's eyes. Megan Aniah was on the verge of tears.

"Please believe me," Megan whispered. "I would never do this to you."

"I think that you would," Minerva said, "If you knew half of what your daughter does about me. Did you tell them the truth, Morgan?"

"I did." Morgan put on her signature doll-like smile. "Believe it or not, they were willing to forgive you for nuking Aphrodite and for founding those chimera labs."

Minerva's eyes lit up.

"Indeed," Morgan said. "What pushed them over the edge was how you treated Ana. How you went behind their backs and shoved her into becoming your successor. How you hurt her and beat her and pushed her further than she was willing to go."

Minerva closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Ana knew that all of Morgan's accusations were true.

"Did you really poison the food because of me?" Ana asked.

"Don't know," Megan said, smiling in spite of her impending death. "I guess my memory got wiped, so I can't psyching tell. But if I did do it for you… then I suppose it wasn't such a bad decision after all."

"Agreed," Adam said. "You mean so much to us. If I found out that President Carpainter was abusing you on top of these crimes that she supposedly committed, then I can see why I went down that road."

"It was a fucking _horrible_ decision!" Ana shouted. "I had everything taken care of!"

Ana resisted the urge to look away from her parents' horrified expressions. She couldn't back down now, not when it really mattered.

"Oh, really?" Morgan asked. "Then why did you barf up nearly everything you ate for a year? Why did you turn to stabbing yourself over and over just to gain some control over your _pathetic_ little life?"

Minerva gasped.

"Ana," she said. "Did you really do that to yourself?"

"I was fine," Ana said, her voice turning to iron. "Nobody needed to die because of me."

"Ana," Megan said. "Please don't talk like that. If you had told us about this earlier…"

"Then Minerva would have murdered you in front of my eyes!" Ana shouted. "Don't you get it? We're tools! We're replaceable! Minerva Carpainter doesn't give a psych about anyone except for her own fucking self!"

Minerva opened her mouth to respond but collapsed to the floor instead, wheezing and coughing.

"The poison will take her soon," Morgan said. "How long will you stay standing, old friend?"

"Ana," Megan said, ignoring Morgan's comment. "I'm sorry that you can't agree with us, but I think that we killed ourselves for a noble cause." Megan coughed up blood. "I'll… see you in heaven, all right?"

Megan Aniah collapsed to the ground. Her chest rose up and down, indicating that she was still alive. Her eyes fluttered, alternating between closing and opening.

"No!" Ana shouted. "You're not going to die! Please, mom…"

"I'm sorry," Megan said. "But I think that Morgan's telling the truth. If Minerva really did do all of those things, then somebody needed… to take… care…"

Megan closed her eyes. This time, they didn't open back up after a few seconds.

"Megan!" Adam shouted, trying to take a step forward and tripping to the ground. "Please, speak to us!"

"Aw, isn't this sweet?" Morgan asked. "And you even brought it upon yourselves! Even I can't believe that I came up with a plan this perfect."

"Go fuck yourself, Morgan," Ana growled. "And then commit suicide once you find out that you can't actually fuck yourself. And while you're at it, change your name to Narcissus."

"Ana," Adam said, shaking uncontrollably. "I don't think that I can last much longer. Please… forgive me."

Adam drew a shaky breath.

"Dad…" Ana said, leaning over Adam. "Why did you have to do this?"

"Because…" Adam wheezed. "You needed… to be… free…"

Adam Aniah fell unconscious, lying next to his wife. Ana tried to muster up sympathy but only found a numbed sense of outrage.

"So this is how it ends," Ana said. "I thought psions were supposed to be hard to kill."

"That's the secret to the universe," Morgan said. "Everything dies. Everything fades. Entropy shall consume us all."

"I barely know what you're saying," Ana said, tightening her grip on her axe. "But I'm pretty sure my response no matter what is 'You're going to die today.'"

" _You_ want to fight _me?_ " Morgan asked. "Oh, how lovely! I've always wanted to tear your pretty little head off of its shoulders."

"Come at me, freakshow."

Morgan and Ana unleashed psychokinetic explosions that scarred the room itself. Even though the castle was made of stone, the repeated bursts of energy coming from both parties left noticeable dents in the walls and floor. Ana slung fire, ice, and shot beams of energy while Morgan propelled stones and knives forward with her psychokinesis.

Even though Ana's powers carried a larger destructive force than Morgan's stones, Ana found herself giving up more and more ground to the empirist psion. Morgan weaved in powerful explosive attacks into her attack patterns, constantly keeping Ana on edge. While Ana packed more firepower, Morgan found ways to use her psionics in clever ways to bridge the gap between the two.

"Why not pull out your strongest powers?" Ana asked. "I can teleport away any time I want, you know."

"I'm quite aware." Morgan adopted a condescending smile. "My psionics are likely weaker than yours, since I lost a lot of my strength after overchanneling once. It was the price I had to pay to save my village from Minerva's destructive fingertips."

After a few minutes, Ana felt her stores of psionic energy start to run low. She charged towards Morgan with her axe in her hands, determined to force Morgan into expending more of her energy on healing rather than offense. Right before she reached Morgan, a boulder fell from the ceiling and smashed into Ana's head, knocking her over.

Ana's head swam with pain as she tried to heal herself. In the back of her mind, she realized that someone was restraining her. By the time that she regained her senses, she found Morgan pinning Ana's hands to the ground with her knees.

"And there it is," Morgan said. "The reckless charge. Don't you know that we've come further than that in our combat strategy? You really do never use that head of yours."

"Why do you hate me so psyching much?" Ana said, struggling to free herself.

"Because you live with perfect relatives and great opportunities while still finding ways to feel overwhelming amounts of self-pity. It's disgusting how hard you think your life is when you're actually on the easiest track possible."

"Don't you think I know that?" Ana asked. "I don't inflict harm on myself because I think that the world is out to get me. I inflict harm on myself because I know that I should be doing better."

"That doesn't make me hate you any less." Morgan wrinkled her nose. "I was hoping that you would eat the cookies and die with your parents, but I guess this will have to do. Any last words?"

Morgan summoned an ectoplasmic knife and held it up to Ana's throat. Ana stared her down, unwilling to show weakness in the face of certain death. The last thing she could do was to not give Morgan the satisfaction of watching her squirm.

"It's not fucking over," Ana heard from across the room.

Morgan's hands went up to her chest in surprise, which meant that her knife was no longer stationed at Ana's throat. Ana looked to the side to see Minerva Carpainter standing up without any support. Her back was hunched over and she took heavy breaths; her skin looked like a sheet of crumpled paper and limbs shook like twigs.

But Minerva Carpainter was alive and standing.

"Oh, such a valiant attempt at survival," Morgan said. "Don't you know that you're a dead woman walking?"

In response, Minerva summoned an ectoplasmic glove on her hands. Claws sprouted at the end of her gloved fingers, making her look like a corny superhero from a television show. Without flinching, Minerva Carpainter used the claws on her gloved hands to dig into the flesh of her lower abdomen.

Then she tore her own stomach out of her body.

Ana nearly barfed as Minerva's guts went flying across the floor. Minerva didn't even blink, proceeding to manifest a psionic power. Little black specks from her guts on the floor flew towards Minerva's fingers and gathered themselves into a black droplet that floated over her palm.

"Clever," Morgan said, "Trying to rip the poison out of your body by force. Unfortunately for you, much of it has already seeped into your muscles and nervous system. You're still going to die just like Ana's parents."

"You misunderstand me," Minerva Carpainter said, her voice surprisingly clear. "Survival is not my goal."

Minerva let the floating droplet of Tanetane mushroom poison fall onto her right pointer finger.

"Then wha…" Morgan's eyes widened in realization.

Morgan started to move her hands in an attempt to warp away. Before she could finish, Minerva teleported over and rammed her pointer finger up Morgan's nose, poison and all. Morgan screamed as Minerva shoved her finger further in.

"No!" Morgan shouted. "I… I swallowed the poison! No!"

Minerva shoved her finger further up Morgan's nose, a look of grim determination on her face. Morgan wrenched Minerva's finger out of her nose.

"I refuse to believe this!" Morgan said with panic that couldn't be faked. "There… has to be something that I can do."

"What did you say about a schemer being caught in another's web?" Minerva asked, collapsing to the floor. "It looks like you got caught in your own."

"WHYYY?" Morgan asked, screaming to the ceiling. "Why… me…?"

"It's hard to come to terms with death, isn't it?" Minerva said. "To be honest, I don't take joy in your suffering. I never wanted you to die. And I certainly don't blame you for killing me."

"If you didn't want me to die, then why did you murder me?" Morgan demanded.

"Because you were about to kill Ana," Minerva said. "We both got our chances and we fucked it up in the most amazing way possible. But she didn't even get that. She… deserves to get a fair shot."

"I will not believe that any of this is happening to me!" Morgan said. "Teleport!"

Morgan Lorune vanished from sight. Ana realized that she had been holding her breath and exhaled. After the raw energy of her psionic battle and the sound of Morgan's screams, Ana didn't know how to respond to the room's eerie silence. After a moment of contemplation, Ana turned back to the President of Ceres.

"Wow," Ana said, kneeling down next to Minerva. "She basically ignored you. Everything has to be about _her,_ doesn't it?"

"Ah, careful," Minerva wheezed. "You probably don't want my innards staining those nice robes of yours."

"Give me a break. You just saved my life!" Ana caught herself yelling and took a deep breath. "Thank you."

"I mean everything that I said. You deserve a real chance, not one that I fucked up for you. This is the least that I can do. Besides, don't you hate me?"

"I do," Ana said. "But I can't stop myself from feeling bad."

"Heh…" Minerva coughed. "I know what you mean. I felt that way when I ordered my father's death. But it doesn't matter anymore. And don't worry about Morgan, either. There's not an antidote to that poison in this whole psyching universe. She won't hurt anyone ever again."

"I'm sorry," Ana said.

"Sorry for what?" Minerva asked.

"Sorry that you had to die like this."

"Save your sympathy for someone who deserves it. I'm psyching happy that life is finally over. For the last couple of years, I could only think about making sure that nobody discovered what I did. I wasn't even _living,_ really. I guess I was just waiting to die all this time." Minerva closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Psych, this feels so good. I can finally let go of everything."

"Every day, I fantasized about killing you," Ana said. "But now that you're dying, I don't know that I want to see you leave. If you were the same person in the office that you are now, the universe could be an amazing place."

"No," Minerva said, opening her eyes and looking at Ana. "I haven't changed since then. I'm still a demolitionist, someone who destroys one thing in order to preserve another. I'm not proud of killing Morgan to save you, and neither am I proud of dropping nuclear bombs on Aphrodite in an attempt to save the universe. It's just more of the same."

"No, it's different," Ana said. "You bombed Aphrodite out of fear. You killed Morgan out of a desire to help."

"Ah, Ana, didn't you tell me once that only the results matter?" Minerva asked. "I still have more blood on my hands either way." Minerva barked a weak laugh that eventually turned into a coughing fit. "I guess the negotiations with Dalaam are out the window. Monotoli will probably become the new president since your parents aren't going to make it… Don't trust his lying ass. His campaign on Vulcan was a disaster, even with you and your friends trying your damndest."

"I never have trusted him, and I don't think that I ever will."

"Good, good. Don't be afraid to stand up to him, all right? I still see the potential that I saw in you all of those years ago. I think you're more similar to me than you think. Please, don't let your fear make you stupid."

Ana bit her lip. What was she supposed to say to that?

"Well… The world's growing black," Minerva said. "I think it means I have to go soon." Minerva smiled more sincerely than Ana had ever seen before. "I finally get to die."

Minerva heaved a final breath and closed her eyes. If her stomach weren't torn open, it would almost look like she was sleeping. Ana realized then why that description was so cliché; it was simply the first comparison that came to mind. Ana walked back over to her parents and took their heartbeats. Nothing. She took their hands and clasped them over the crosses that they always wore around their necks.

 _Please, God,_ Ana thought. _If you do exist, please make sure that they're okay. I think that you're not super cool with suicide, but can't you see what they were trying to do? I don't approve of it, and you don't have to, but at least they tried, right?_

At least they tried. That was a phrase that Ana had never before believed. If someone failed, then it was the same as not trying. The consequences were the same, after all. It affected the people around them in the same way.

…But did it? Because even though Ana wished that her parents hadn't started this whole mess, she couldn't hate them too much when they tried their hardest. Was that how other people saw her? Is that why Ninten still wanted to help her, even though she was a pathetic excuse for a friend?

Those were tricky questions, and not one that Ana had the answers to. She took Minerva's pulse and found nothing as well. Strange that the president should die so soon after falling unconscious. Maybe Minerva used up every ounce of energy to kill Morgan and speak with Ana so that her body couldn't even power her basic functions. As Ana walked out of the room, she took one last look at the president's corpse sprawled on the floor.

Minerva was still smiling.


	38. Chapter 33: Heartstone

**Hey, everyone! It's Monday, so that means that I'm updating with another chapter. I think that this chapter is the shortest out of all of them (4k words without the AN) because I couldn't fit the scenes together well. Expect this chapter to be more of a transition period before things start to heat up again. Still, some important stuff happens, so I wouldn't recommend skipping it. :)**

 **Also, we have not one but two cliffhangers. :D**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Shimo no ko:** Yeah, if Ana can feel bad for Minerva after all she's done then I'm not surprised that you do as well. And my intention was to depict Minerva as a grey character from the start. She tries to help the universe and struggles in the face of monumental failure. It's a pretty common narrative. The official process for turning someone into a savant is something that I don't have many details about; my explanation is "Minerva did it with fancy starman-esque technology." Yeah, it's going to end soon, but we still have a while to go. I wonder if Ceres 3 is going to be this long... And yeah, more chapters than book one and already about 25k words up. Dalaam's a busy place. :)

 **The-Great-Me-sama:** Considering how often I put cliffhangers in, I doubt that would get positive reception. xD We still have Ninten's storyline to finish as well as tying a bunch of things up between Ness, Paula, Poo, and General Kim. This will be over relatively soon, but I still need to clean some things up. :)

 **A Fan:** I know; I got no writing done during my vacation. Pretty much, yeah. xD I've been planning the death of Minerva and Ana's parents through the poison thing for a long time, but the others died to keep the story going. Yep, you're right about the empirist arc. In the end, they burn out and end up as ashes... but all of the hatred that they've fostered won't die as easily. Yep, Dr. Andonuts' lab is pretty big, bigger than it's depicted in Earthbound. I don't know why I made that choice; it just kind of came out. Yep, bringing down more stuff would have put Ana in a bad position (she can survive a lot of punishment, but that doesn't really matter if she gets crushed to death), but Morgan got overconfident and didn't expect Minerva's sudden burst of life. Yeah, not exactly a dignified way to go.

 **crabbyTomato:** Well, I ended up killing all three, so... the "please don't kill this one too" list just got rejected. D: Gasping at the screen after you read it? Hopefully not because it was written terribly. xD An airlock would help with the altitude difference, but the Shard is still enchanted to prevent teleportation. Besides, making an airlock could be pretty tough without access to a lot of materials (although I wouldn't really know how one is made). Yeah, I took a little inspiration from the Halloween hack, even though I've never played it. Yeah, not a great situation for Ninten and Claus. I wonder how it could get any worse... ;)

Yep, that was basically what I was going for with Minerva's death. She definitely suffered from quite a bit of guilt. I don't know if she really _had_ to tear her stomach out, but I thought of the idea and really liked it. Mostly for the heroic sacrifice thing that you were talking about. We'll hear a bit more about Morgan this chapter, so we'll see how that goes. Yeah, Ness and Paula are coming back into the story... soon. Not this chapter, but soon.

* * *

 _Some people find sorrow in endings, but I rejoice in the inevitable destruction of everything that I know. I suppose that makes me sound like a nihilist._

 _But if life lasted forever, would we ever really enjoy it?_

 _Mortality pushes us towards greatness. We do what we love because life is too damn short to be spent solely on routines and chores._

 _I think that's worth celebrating._

* * *

"Schizophrenia?" Jeff asked. "Nobody ever told me that my dad has schizophrenia!"

"Ugh," Voice said, bobbing above the screen on the ground. "From his description, it sounds like paranoid schizophrenia. You know, the one with delusions and hallucinations. Lovely stuff."

"Why did my dad never tell me about this?" Jeff asked. "He sent me away to psyching Ceres and didn't even tell me that insanity runs in the family?"

"Relax," Voice said. "Genetics are only one component involved in developing schizophrenia. Even if he passed down the bad genes, there's a good chance that it won't trigger. Besides, people don't usually develop serious symptoms until after age 18."

"That doesn't make me feel any better!"

"Well, that's all I've got."

"Oh no," Diana said from the other side of the room. "Ah, psych it. I knew that I shouldn't have left that snake alive."

"Hmm?" Jeff asked, walking over to the other screen on the Shard's floor. "Oh my god. What happened here?"

On Diana's screen, Jeff saw Ana kneeling on the ground next to Minerva Carpainter's dead body. The president of Ceres had a gaping hole in her stomach that nearly made Jeff barf.

"Morgan poisoned her," Diana said. "And Ana's parents, by the looks of it. Min just shoved a bit of that poison up Morgan's nose, so she won't be around for much longer either."

"Poison?" Jeff asked. "Can't psions resist it?"

"Not this kind." Diana squeezed her eyes shut. "I was prepared for trouble, but I never imagined… Gah!" Her eyes shot back open. "Why do I have to be here? If I could just head over there…"

"Then your sister would still be dead and you would probably suffer nasty effects from the reduced oxygen levels that high up on a mountain," Voice said. "Either way, nothing changes."

"Psych it." Diana took a deep breath. "Some big sister I was. Min did some terrible things, but she was always trying her best to make the universe a better place. I still think of her as the eager woman who wanted to save Ceres from aristocracy, not the jaded politician that she became."

"I'm sorry," Jeff said. "I wish that I knew President Carpainter before all of that happened to her."

"Thanks, Jeff," Diana said. Turning away, "Psych it! Min was the better part of me. She resisted our father when I was too scared. She captivated the public while I butchered them in the name of God. So why did she have to fall like that?"

"You don't always have to compare yourself to her," Jeff said. "You're both your own people, and you each made your own choices."

"But we're identical twins," Diana said. "We literally share the same DNA, but she tried to build a new future while I tried to destroy it. Do you see this?" She gestured towards Minerva's corpse on the screen. "This is how it ends for a version of me who made the _good_ choices!"

"Not very empowering, huh?" Voice said. "It probably makes you wonder what you could have done to get a happy ending."

Diana nodded, and Jeff could see her eyes welling up with tears. That didn't make sense. Someone as strong as Diana Carpainter shouldn't cry.

"I don't think I can answer that question myself," Voice said. "But all that you can do now is pick yourself up and keep trudging along. Maybe there's nothing that you can do, but it's not like you have anything to lose."

"That actually helps, strangely enough," Diana said, closing her eyes. "Heh. I haven't cried in a long time. Not a proper display of emotion from a hardened killer, you know?"

"It's okay," Jeff said. "Tears are natural. You don't have to hold them in."

Even as Diana squeezed her eyes shut more tightly, the tears kept flowing.

"I'm sorry, Min," Diana said. "There was so much that I wanted to say to you, but now I'll never get the chance. I'll try to make sure that they don't remember you too badly, all right?"

The atmosphere weighed down on Jeff like a sack of bricks; he took a deep breath himself and exhaled out some of his sorrow. He took a look back at the screen and spotted Ana walking out of the room, her robes covered in blood.

"Hey," Jeff said. "Do you think that we could follow Ana for a while?"

In response, the screen rippled like water until it eventually showed Ana's position. She stood amidst a sea of corpses that Jeff identified as Dalaamian nobles. Something or someone had killed them as they tried to escape from the palace

"Divine Rulers!" Jeff said. "Could this situation possibly get any worse?"

The bodies on the floor of the royal palace were vivid enough to make Jeff sick, even if they were just displayed on a screen. Diana looked at the scene with an air of melancholy acceptance.

"Don't tell me that you saw this coming, Carpainter," Voice said.

"You shouldn't be surprised," Diana said. "Why do you think that General Kim didn't help fight off the Revivalists when they attacked Yazhou? Oh, he can claim that they caught him off guard, but do either of you two buy that?"

Jeff and Voice shook their heads.

"Right!" Diana said. "He _wanted_ the Revivalists to succeed. He _wanted_ them to rape and pillage. He was probably in charge of this massacre."

"Ugh," Voice said. "Why is Dalaam stuck in the past? That sounds barbaric even by this universe's standards."

"A couple reasons," Diana said. "First, they lack a cohesive communications system. It's easy to resist change when there's nobody there to bring you back to grips with reality. At least Ceres has telecommunicators for the elite to share ideas."

"And the second reason?" Jeff asked.

"Well, you've heard about the disastrous results of the Vulcan campaign," Diana said. "Why do you think that the Dalaamians turn to the past?"

"Because the feel attacked," Jeff realized out loud. "I don't know a whole lot about Dalaam, but I think we forced them into some pretty bad situations."

"If by 'we' you mean the entire empire, then yeah," Diana said wryly. "But basically, you're right. The empire tried to take away their heritage and force them to modernize. It only made them hate us and cling onto their past more tightly."

"That was a rhetorical question," Voice said, "But you might have a point. I witnessed that phenomenon firsthand. When New Pork tried to modernize Tazmily…"

"New Pork?" Jeff asked.

"Voice's universe is crazy," Diana said. "But hey, I think that there were cities on Aphrodite named 'Tazmily' and 'New Pork,' so it might not be _that_ crazy. What seems crazier to me is how some people in this universe look at the Dalaam situation as a justification for racism."

"Really?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah," Diana said. "They pin all of the Revivalists' bad actions on Dalaam, even though we pushed them towards that extreme."

"And the Revivalists aren't even representative of all Dalaamians," Jeff said.

"Try telling that to the Ceresian ex-nobles," Diana said with a snort. "Meanwhile, Ceresian prison camps on Vulcan kill thousands. That seems civilized."

Jeff flinched at the flippant way that Diana said those words.

"How did you reason through all of this without letting your biases get in the way?" Jeff asked. "People call me smart, but I don't think that I could ever do that."

"Oh, it's easy," Diana said. "All that you have to do is go through an experience that teaches you how everything that you think you know about the world is a lie."

* * *

Ana Aniah walked through the halls of Dalaam's royal palace, jaw clenched and hands balled into fists.

 _My parents are dead._

Just put one foot in front of the other.

 _Monotoli's taking over. He'll screw up this nation even more than Minerva did, and nobody's left to stop him._

Don't think, just walk.

 _Meanwhile, Giygas is apparently real and he just kidnapped Lucas. I don't know what that means, but even a toddler could tell that it probably won't work in our favor._

Thump, thump, thump. Ana listened to the sounds of her footsteps.

 _And I'm not sure if the Dalaamian Revivalists are even scattered for good. The only thing that could make this day worse is…_

Ana gasped, looking at a line of corpses in front of her. She ran up and identified their clothes as belonging to the Dalaamian nobles. Every corpse bore slash or stab marks; none of them were killed by psionics.

 _Although…_

Ana remembered Pokey's death. Someone clearly killed him with psionics and stuck a knife through his chest afterwards. They never did figure out who killed him, right? Well, either way, it wasn't a likely scenario in this situation. Likely, a group of armed fighters came in and slaughtered everyone in sight.

But that didn't make any sense. These hypothetical warriors weren't part of Morgan's stunt since she could have killed all the nobles in the room with a single psionic power. So what was their goal? Why did they choose to strike now? And how had they even gotten into the city?

Ana tried to remember from when she had visited Dalaam several years ago where the throne room was located. Maybe she could help the king… if he wasn't already dead. Besides, didn't Poo say that he was kind of an asshole? Well, asshole or no, the king brought stability to the kingdom. Ana would have to find who killed all of these nobles and deal with them before they harmed the king.

After wandering around for a few minutes, Ana found the double doors to the throne room located along the hallway with the corpses, which did not seem like a good sign. With considerable effort, Ana forced one of the double doors open, revealing a throne room with walls and floorboards stained red with blood. She spotted more corpses in the room itself, including those of Dalaamian soldiers.

Ana looked up to the throne. The man that she recognized as General Kim See-Yoon was sitting on the seat of kings, holding a lance in one hand and the Dalaamian King's severed head in the other. Next to him stood a dozen men wearing Revivalist uniforms.

General Kim dropped the king's head, letting it roll down the steps. He looked up at Ana and smiled.

"You arrived just in time," he said.

* * *

"Here," Claus said, shoving a knife in Ninten's face. "Take Phonus."

 _Phonus?_ Ninten thought, grabbing onto the knife. _Oh, the third Osohe knife. Whose psionic essence got stuck in this one?_

"Are you sure that you don't need it?" Ninten asked.

"Positive." Claus drew his sword from its sheath, holding it in both hands. "Your style of poking holes through your opponent isn't as good against these starmen. Trust me; I've fought them before."

 _So,_ Ninten thought. _He gives me the knife instead. He gives me the power to insert a human cognitive essence into a starman's body, breaking it entirely._

Ninten leapt out of the way just in time for several lasers to graze past his side.

"It's time to kill," Claus said.

Claus advanced towards the starmen, lumbering like a giant. He smashed his greatsword into one of the aliens, denting its outer skin. Ninten found it difficult to believe that someone so physically strong was only 15 years old.

Ninten darted forward, stabbing starmen left and right with Phonus. Each time, he pressed the yellow jewel, waited for it to drain into the alien's wirings, and watched as the starman flailed and collapsed. The starmen warped around and made it difficult for Ninten to chase them, but Ninten's speed allowed him to stab a stray starman every once in a while.

Perhaps that was another reason that Claus gave Ninten Phonus. The starman focused their fire on Ninten without even considering Claus as a potential target; clearly they were after the knife itself. As a result, they took great pains to avoid the knife's edge, forcing Ninten to dart around and expose himself. During this time, Claus was free to skirt around and engage starmen as he pleased. While the aliens didn't ignore him entirely, they made less of an effort to keep him running. The high pitched whirrs and dull thuds of starmen falling to the ground alerted Ninten whenever Claus scored a kill, which occurred far more frequently than Ninten taking out a starman himself.

During the brief glances that Ninten took towards Dr. Andonuts, he saw the inventor firing psionics at a horde of starmen while grinning from ear to ear. The starmen fired lasers at him; he didn't even bother to dodge.

Before long, the room started to reek of starman guts. Ninten found himself slipping over papers and barely dodging puddles of acid as he raced towards his next kill. Just when it seemed like the starmen were starting to thin out, another wave of the alien teleported into the room.

"Psych it!" Ninten shouted. "We already have enough to deal with."

"Since when does life ever give you what you can handle?" Claus asked, kicking a starman corpse aside. "We're taking this on by our own damn selves."

"You two could leave, you know!" Dr. Andonuts shouted. "If the starmen didn't sense the presence of all three knives together, they would probably ignore you!"

Ninten and Claus exchanged a glance.

 _"Should we?"_ Ninten asked telepathically.

Claus face tightened. He shook his head before swinging his greatsword into another starman.

 _Well,_ Ninten thought. _I tried._

The starman adapted by firing lasers at Ninten's hand. While it caused more of them to miss, the ones that did hit provoked a reflex reaction in him to drop everything that he was holding. Ninten found himself scrambling to pick up the knife multiple times between every kill that he scored because another laser knocked it out of his hand.

After a few minutes of battle, Ninten felt his psionic stores run low. He used most of his psionic energy to heal himself from the onslaught of lasers; at his current rate he wouldn't be able to keep up for Claus to kill the rest of them.

"Claus," Ninten said, dashing towards a starman. "We need to change things up."

Right before Ninten could stab the starman, the alien teleported teasingly out of reach.

"I can't keep going like this," Ninten added, panting heavily.

"What the psych do you want me to do?" Claus asked.

"I don't know. Do you have any ideas?"

Claus' face darkened. He sliced a starman's head off and then kicked the corpse into a puddle of acid.

"Claus?"

"I'm thinking!" the ginger snapped. "Psych. It doesn't look like I have much of a choice left. It's time to pull out my secret weapon."

"You have a secret weapon?" Ninten asked. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Because I don't want to use it. If my secret weapon becomes known, then everyone will expect it. That kind of takes the 'secret' out of it."

"Well, we're going to die here if you don't do something!" Ninten shouted.

Another starman right outside of Ninten's reach teleported several feet away. Ninten gritted his teeth, using psionics to heal himself from the most recent beam attacks.

"I understand," Claus said. "I just… hoped that I wouldn't have to do this."

Ninten caught a twinge of fear in Claus' voice and stopped dead in his tracks. He watched as Claus brought a shaky hand up to his eye patch. A laser struck Claus' chest and another one hit his left leg. He didn't even bother to react. Claus grabbed onto his eye patch and tore it off.

Ninten knew that Claus had lost his eye, but he hadn't expected to see a psionic crystal sitting in its place. Instead of the purple crystals that Ninten was so used to seeing, the gemstone in his eye shone blood red. Ninten squinted, trying to filter out some of the blinding, red light from the crystal.

"It's called Heartstone," Claus said. "This is the last known chunk in the universe. Although, I suppose Aphrodite might be intact enough for people to theoretically mine for more."

Claus ripped the crystal out of his eye socket. More lasers slammed into his body, but one again Claus didn't even seem to notice. Dr. Andonuts laughed uncontrollably in the background.

"Can you _use_ the psyching stone?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "I'm telling you, Morgan would have paid an arm and a leg for a crystal that size."

Claus closed his single eye and took a deep breath. When he opened it, the eye blazed with a fury that Ninten had seen when first meeting Claus on Ceres. It made him want to run back into the cave and hide in the Rainy Circle.

"Please don't judge me too harshly for this," Claus said. "PK Love."

Immediately, Ninten felt his head spinning. For an instant, he felt pure joy unlike anything he had ever experienced. The next instant, the happiness fled and sorrow took its place. Ninten moved Phonus closer to his chest. He couldn't live another second with this overwhelming sadness.

But he didn't have to. The next instant, the sorrow was replaced by anger. Then fear. Then surprise. Soon, everything became jumbled up in Ninten's head. He couldn't see; he couldn't hear. The emotions that raged inside of his head blocked everything else out. He felt _too much._

In the back of his mind, he thought that he heard a voice:

 _"Love is not a single thing. It encompasses everything that we are."_

 _Everything that we are…_

Ninten gasped for breath, his senses returning to normal. He realized that he was lying on the floor. He jumped to his feet and looked around. Every single starman that had previously stood in the room had been reduced to a pile of innards on the ground.

 _Claus killed them all,_ Ninten thought. _He used a power called PK Love. Did it make me see all of that? Was it… real?_

Ninten spotted Claus with his eye closed, standing in the exact same position as before. The only difference at all was that the red crystal in his hand was now a colorless grey; all of its life had been sucked out.

"So… cold…" Claus dropped his sword and hugged his arms. "Never… again…"

"Claus!" Ninten shouted, running over to his friend. "Claus, what's wrong?"

"I would keep your distance if I were you," Dr. Andonuts said, standing up and putting on his glasses. "That power doesn't treat people lightly."

"Claus, what did you do?" Ninten asked, putting a hand on Claus' shoulder.

Claus flinched, looking at Ninten in horror.

"Claus?"

Claus buried his face in his hands, turning away. He whispered something that Ninten couldn't make out.

"What?" Ninten asked.

"I said stay away from me!" Claus yelled. "Please. I don't want to hurt you."

"Claus, I know that you would never-"

"Maybe _I_ wouldn't, but this isn't me," Claus said. "Please, just run away. I'll be fine in a couple of hours."

"We should take him up on that," Dr. Andonuts said. "Enhancing PK Love with a Heartstone draws on the power of positive emotions from the psionic essence. With those exhausted, he'll be a ball of hate and rage before long, regardless of neurotransmitters that correspond to positive emotions in the brain."

"You mean…?"

"Yeah, that his psionic self is overriding his body's normal commands. And that psionic self is wounded, Ninten. Psych, I'd take a temporary imbalance of neurotransmitters over this. Psychological disorders don't result in nearly as much violence as you might expect. Remember, you're talking to someone with Schizophrenia."

"Go," Claus said, sinking to his knees. "Now."

Right then, Ninten sensed a psionic aura appear right next to Dr. Andonuts. Fearing the intrusion of another starman, Ninten whirled around to spot a wide-eyed Morgan Lorune. The empirist shook like a leaf; her skin was a sickly pale.

"Morgan!" Dr. Andonuts said. "You can't just teleport from Yazhou to here! The difference in oxygen concentrations due to the altitude change over such a short period of time…"

"Will kill me, yes," Morgan said, her voice surprisingly frail. "But I'm already dead. I'm sorry, Pan."

"Sorry?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "Sorry for what?"

"I just…" Morgan coughed. "I guess I thought that I would live forever. I thought that I would have centuries to be happy. It was so silly to spend so much time plotting revenge, wasn't it? Good and bad are just labels."

Morgan took shaky steps towards Ninten.

"Do you still want to kill me?" Ninten asked.

"Never," Morgan said, her voice quivering. "Ah… psych. I was just angry that you became so bitter even though you hadn't known half of the horrors that Pan and I saw. To see you crack under less…" Morgan laughed. "I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy and I'm not making sense. But I don't want to hurt you. Like I said, I'm going to die soon anyway. I just wanted to say…"

Before Morgan could finish her sentence, Claus lunged forward, picking his sword off of the ground. He dashed in front of Ninten and pointed the blade at Morgan.

"Lorune," Claus said, his voice emotionless. "You bring nothing but pain."

Morgan's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to respond. Before any words could come out, Claus drove his sword through Morgan's chest.

"Claus!" Ninten shouted. "Stop it!"

"No…" Morgan said, struggling to get that one word out. "Dead… Anyways…"

Claus gave his sword an extra thrust. Morgan gasped as Claus' drove his sword deeper into her flesh. She didn't even close her mouth before her eyes went glassy.

"Morgan!" Dr. Andonuts shouted. "Morgan, please! I'm not ready to say goodbye!"

 _She was dead regardless,_ Ninten thought. _Even she accepted that. So why the psych do I feel like murdering Claus for what he did to her?_

Ninten looked at Claus' neutral face and felt his rage grow.

 _I guess there's more to life than the outcomes,_ Ninten thought. _Even though she was a dead woman walking, it's a shame to see her go down like that. I don't think she even understood that herself._

"Why are you mad?" Claus asked, looking back and forth between Ninten and Dr. Andonuts. "She was a bad woman, so I killed her. She admitted that she was going to die soon and I didn't want her to pull anything funny."

In a twisted way, Claus' logic made sense. But Ninten knew that it wasn't really him talking. Was this what happened when someone used a Heartstone to empower PK Love? It allowed him to somehow kill all of the starmen, but Ninten didn't know if Claus should have taken the trade.

"You've just made a terrible mistake, my friend," Dr. Andonuts said, throwing off his lab coat. "You see, Morgan was the only thing keeping me civil. Take her out of the equation and…"

Dr. Andonuts whispered an incantation and transformed into another human. This new form looked like an older version of Ninten, even more so than Teddy. He wore a knowing smile; Ninten couldn't tell if it was real or fake. Ninten vaguely recognized him from a picture in the steel cube that Morgan had trapped him in on Vulcan.

"My true name," the new Dr. Andonuts said, "Is Pan Lorune. And you are about to see what it is like to fight someone with nothing to lose."


	39. Chapter 34: PK Rockin

**The end to this fic draws ever nearer, but I'm still chugging along. :)**

 **For those of you wondering where Ness comes back into the story, this is it. He's not done with his role in this fic yet!**

 **And also, we learn more about General Kim in this chapter (resolving one of the cliffhangers... ish).**

 **Well, I'll move onto review responses since I don't have much more to say. Thank you to everyone who's stuck with the story for this long, and than you especially to those of you who review. :)**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** Uh... the chapter should be up. It works fine when I go there. Aw, thanks. :) And that's higher than my highest pokemon's CP... although I don't play the game anymore, so I guess that's to be expected.

 **Shimo no ko:** Yep, Pan Lorune and Dr. Andonuts are the same person. Yeah, Morgan's death wasn't a super emotional part for me to write, either. I guess it just came out that way. But with a lot of the emotion packed into the other chapters (or at least _attempted_ to be packed into other chapters), I don't think that it's necessary. As for that particular heartstone, I don't think that I'll ever really explain the story behind it. It's not really important and there are already a number of flashbacks planned. Thanks! :)

* * *

 _Yet destruction is the nature of entropy. Matter and energy tend to spread out and exist in states that require the least energy to form._

 _This entropy will eventually result in a universe with uniformly distributed energy that is incapable of doing work, which basically means the end of… well, everything._

 _But order is built by this chaos. If we pack a bunch of protons together, we know that they'll separate. That's how our cells get energy; they shoot protons to the other side of a membrane and use turbines to gather energy when those positive charges funnel back through to the other side._

 _If the universe didn't tend towards chaos and energy patterns were completely random, we wouldn't be able to form systems to harness reliable power._

 _Without entropy, there would be no life._

* * *

Ana stared at the Dalaamian King's head as it rolled down the steps and onto the red carpet below. For a few seconds, her mind shut off, unable to process the scene in front of her. She opened her mouth without the intention of speaking.

"And here we are," General Kim said. "Yet another Ceresian witch trying to interfere with our plans."

Ana returned to reality, gasping for breath. She felt her heart pounding with anger and tried to shush it. But just like a child throwing a tantrum, trying to calm herself down only made her heart screech and shriek.

"Is this a coup, General Kim?" Ana asked, trying to keep her voice level.

"No, we're holding a fucking festival." Kim sneered. "Of course it's a coup. Kill the witch."

General Kim waved his hand and the revivalists charged towards Ana. If she took out their leader, hopefully the regular soldiers would listen to reason.

"Mind Thrust," Ana said, aiming the power at Kim.

Instead of falling dead on the floor like he should have, General Kim shot Ana a knowing smile. It took a precious second for Ana to recover from the shock.

 _No way,_ Ana thought. _He's the leader of a group that condemns psionics as witchcraft, yet he's a psion himself? No ordinary man could survive such an attack._

The Revivalist soldiers picked up their pace, extending their spears and swords towards Ana to skewer her during the charge. Ana checked her psionic stores and found only a trickle of energy left.

 _Well,_ Ana thought. _Here goes the last of my power._

"Fireball," she said, gritting her teeth.

A yellow orb floated leisurely to the center of the charging Revivalists and detonated, engulfing the dozen or so warriors in flame. By the time that the fire subsided, Ana couldn't differentiate one charred corpse from another. She nearly sank to her knees, although even she couldn't tell if it was from guilt or exhaustion.

"There we go," Kim said, dropping his Dalaamian accent. "Now that you've taken care of them, I don't have to put up with all of this bullshit."

General Kim stood up from the throne and descended down the bloodstained steps, each stride confident and measured.

"You don't care at all that I killed some of your most loyal soldiers?" Ana asked. "You're disgusting."

"Now, now," Kim said. "I was hoping to have a decent conversation. It's not every day that I meet someone so much like me, you know."

"I don't need to listen to this," Ana said, standing up and whirling around.

"Wait." The iron tone in Kim's voice stopped Ana in her tracks. "I know that you don't have enough psionic energy to teleport. If you run, I will chase you down and kill you."

General Kim spoke those words without anger or zeal. In fact, he talked so softly that Ana wasn't entirely sure if she had heard him right. She shivered from the goosebumps that crawled all over her skin.

"Now," Kim said, returning to his normal voice. "Would you care to have a little chat?"

Ana turned back around and nodded. Should she try to appear weak and vulnerable? Somehow, she got the impression that Kim didn't really care one way or the other.

"Good," Kim said. "Please, let me explain myself. I am the leader of the Revivalists, as you may know."

"So you were responsible for the attack on Yazhou earlier," Ana said.

"But of course!" General Kim nodded in self-approval. "It was too easy to pretend that I didn't know where they would attack. It all would have worked perfectly if it weren't for that little savant of yours. But don't worry; Giygas has… taken care of him."

 _Well, that matches Ness' story about Giygas,_ Ana thought.

"Ah, I see that sneer on your face," Kim said.

"But of course!" Ana said, mimicking the general's flippant tone. "You're a fucking _monster._ Don't you care about all of the innocent lives that you ended so abruptly?"

"Tell me, Miss Aniah," General Kim said. "You are an American, yes?"

Ana nodded.

"Well, I've found solace in your country's ideals," Kim said. "Here in Dalaam, social classes are so restrictive. If you're born a commoner, you had better psyching _stay_ a commoner. In America, you're encouraged to challenge what you know and rise to the top."

"Stop trying to change the subject."

"Everyone can control their own fate, Ana," Kim said. "When someone fails, it's nobody's fault but theirs. Isn't that what you Americans preach?"

"I… guess so?"

"So that means it's not my fault that all of those civilians died. It's not my Revivalists' fault that all those civilians died. They were in control of their own destiny. They _chose_ to die."

"Okay, now you've gone batshit crazy," Ana said. "You can't honestly expect them to survive when faced against a horde of barbarians with actual weapons."

"We are all in control," General Kim repeated. "The civilians who died could have survived if they possessed the will. That's why I don't feel bad. The people who died were the ones who _deserved_ to die."

"That's insane," Ana muttered.

"Your belief that the world controls you is the only thing holding you back," Kim said. "People succeed because they are better than others. The people who get trampled by horses are worse than others. If you accept that, it will bring you closer to success."

"Oh, of course," Ana said. "Another dark philosopher justifying their horrific acts with intellectual bullshit."

"Tell me, Ana," Kim said, smiling at Ana's previous comment. "Why aren't you more open and honest?"

"Because people would hate me if they knew who I am," Ana said, staring Kim down. "I'll admit that I understand more of your feelings than I probably should. Just like you, it makes me happy to hurt people. I prefer the exhilaration of the battlefield to the monotony of the courtroom. But it's not okay if I just go around chopping off other people's limbs for the fun of it."

"That hesitation is what holds you back from true happiness," General Kim said. "I am as free as an eagle, Miss Aniah. Join me and we shall ravage the world together. Don't worry about what people will think or say; they don't matter." Kim tapped on his chest. "You should listen to your heart rather than your fear."

Kim's offer, while ridiculous, was more tempting than Ana would ever admit. After all, her parents were dead, Minerva was dead, and she could never love Ness like he loved her. Why should she let anyone else hold her back?

"You know that I'll never say yes to you," Ana said. "So save your breath."

"I simply want for you to consider your options," Kim said. "You focus too much on what you think you _have_ to do instead of what you _want_ to do."

"But what I want to do is completely wrong!"

"Says who? Everyone else? Fuck them. Surround yourself with people who will accept you as you are. That's what I did."

General Kim gestured towards the destruction around him. Blood stained the carpets and walls; shattered vases and torn scrolls lay scattered across the ground.

"The Revivalists approve of my destructive tendencies," Kim said. "So why should I give a psych about anyone else? They won't accept me even if I accept them."

"That's because they're decent human beings while you're a freak!"

"My point stands for itself," Kim said. "You should surround yourself with people who agree with you."

"Which, by your logic, means that I shouldn't accept you," Ana said. "Because you sure as psych don't approve of my decision to be a decent human being."

"I never said-"

"You said that you would kill me if I tried to run away."

"That was for your own good. You needed to hear the truth that I speak, even if you did not wish to listen."

 _Basically anyone could use that logic as an excuse to restrain Kim himself from killing people and it would make far more sense,_ Ana thought. _Why can't he see how much of a hypocrite he is?_

"I think I'm done here," Ana said. "You're just going to pull another sentence out of your ass if I say anything else. Kill me if you want to."

Instead of smiling hungrily as Ana had anticipated, General Kim See-Yoon sighed and shook his head.

"A shame," he said. "I thought that you weren't like the others. I thought that I could make a new friend. But I suppose if I can't…"

General Kim vanished from sight. The next second, And felt a blunt object smash into her right ankle. She tripped, falling to the ground and landing on her hands and knees. Another object smashed into her back, sending her flat on her stomach. Her vision swam with pain, but a voice in the back of her mind told her that it was probably General Kim's foot that had hit her both times.

The next second, she felt Kim's hands pin her arms to the ground. She flailed and kicked, but her wild attacks only made contact with empty air.

"Now," General Kim said. "Is there a specific way that you would like to die?"

Ana grunted, the pain rendering her incapable of response even if she wished to.

"No preference?" Kim said. "All right. Maybe I should start by breaking every bone in your body while I listen to you scream. That sounds fun, doesn't it?"

Ana braced herself for the pain. This couldn't hurt too much more than one of her training sessions with Minerva, could it?

The first blow never came.

After a few moments, Ana felt General Kim release the grip on her arms. Ana leapt to her feet, seeing Kim hold up a defensive martial arts position. In between her and Kim stood Prince Poo of Dalaam, poised to block any attacks aimed at Ana.

"I did tell you to be careful, didn't I?" Poo asked. "Now let's kill this slime and be done with it."

"Ah, Prince Poo!" General Kim said. "It's so nice to see you again. I didn't know that you were even alive."

"That was kind of the idea."

Poo rushed at Kim, lashing out with a snap kick. General Kim danced out of the way, running back to the throne and grabbing his lance.

"I must say, it's heartwarming to see you trying to avenge your father like this!" General Kim said, pointing the lance at Poo.

Ana picked up a curved sword from a soldier's corpse. It felt clunky in her hands, but she couldn't afford to be picky.

"You know that I don't really care about his death," Poo said. "My father was a racist, he ruled his country poorly, and he used cruelty rather than love or reason. I don't owe him anything. But if you think that your gang of rapists and murderers are any better than the puffy nobles you hate, you're lying to yourself."

General Kim released a booming laugh.

"Me?" he asked. "Hate the nobles? I don't hate anyone in this entire universe. Life's too short to be angry all the time."

"You told me just a couple years ago that you 'couldn't do a damn thing,'" Poo said. "What happened to that?"

"He must have gotten a psyching lobotomy," Ana muttered. "Because it seems like he's missing most of his brain."

"Enlightenment happened, my dear prince!" General Kim said. "My compassion for the faceless masses held me back for all of these years, but now I'm free. They don't matter, Poo. I should only care about myself and my friends. Everyone else can fend for themselves."

"So this is how it goes?" Poo asked. "You try to help the common Dalaamians, get jaded and bitter when you fail, and then you convince yourself that they don't matter?"

"Convince myself?" Kim said. "This is what's in my heart. I follow my emotions, not some cold 'logic' that doesn't end up meaning anything."

"It's possible to do both," Ana said.

"But _you_ are only doing the latter," Kim said, shooting Ana a smile.

"Ana, we're letting him talk circles around us," Poo said. "Kim has always been a persuasive speaker; after an hour with him you'll believe that the sun won't rise tomorrow. Let us fight him before he can buy any more time."

Ana nodded. She understood Kim's desire for destruction and his yearning for freedom, but he was still a danger to all of Dalaam. Leaving him alive would only result in more chaos.

"Nice opportunity for you, isn't it?" Kim said. "After all, I'm the only person that stands between you and the throne, both figuratively and literally!"

Poo advanced towards General Kim. Ana followed, but she was unable to dismiss Kim's implications outright. Was it possible that Poo merely wished to seize power? Looking at the glee written on Kim's face, she decided that Poo would be a better candidate for the throne either way.

"I'm so sorry," General Kim said, "But I'm afraid that I can't allow you to do that."

Ana's psionic senses alerted her to the trouble before her physical senses did. She made out dozens of psionic auras as they popped into the room. She glanced back and forth, spotting a starman for each aura that she sensed. The starmen fired a barrage of lasers at Ana and Poo.

"There are too many of these psyching starmen!" Ana shouted. "We can't take them all!"

"Indeed you cannot!" General Kim shouted, waving his lance above his head. "Do either of you want to say a few last words before you die?"

"Sorry, Poo," Ana said. "I don't even have enough psionic energy left to teleport us out of here."

"Then let's run!" Poo shouted, bolting towards the exit.

General Kim teleported to the room's exit, holding out his lance poised to catch a charge.

"Excuse me while I block of your only escape path," Kim said. A psionic power forced the double doors behind him closed. " _Now_ do you have any last words?"

"Sure we do," Poo said. "We're taking you down with us."

* * *

 _Lucas,_ Ness thought. _Will I ever see you again? And even if I do, will you still be yourself?_

Ness sighed, looking out into the sea of grey and green beyond the cliff side. Houses in the distance were mere specks; Ness wrapped his hand around those dots and tried to pull them in. If he met Lucas again, the blond, shy boy would be the same psionic savant as the Lucas who slaughtered an entire village back on Vulcan. Could this day possibly get any worse?

"Ness!" Paula said, panting as she ran up to him.

One look at Paula's ghastly face was enough to tell Ness that his day was indeed about to get worse.

"What's wrong?" Ness asked. "It must be bad, since-"

"Since I'm not bothering to be afraid of you?" Paula offered.

"I was going to say your pale face," Ness said.

"Well, you're right," Paula said. "I'll just say that some people aren't going to be coming out of the palace today."

"What?" Ness asked. "You mean… people got imprisoned?"

"Dead," Paula said. "Xiyen, Minerva Carpainter, and Ana's parents."

Ness gasped, teetering backwards and almost falling off of the cliff. Paula grabbed onto his arm and pulled him forward.

"To make things worse, General Kim is leading a coup with the Revivalists. I wouldn't be surprised if every civilian in the palace was killed at this point."

"No," Ness said. "Why is this happening? Giygas already captured Lucas, and now Dalaam is falling apart?"

"Ceres as well," Paula said. "Megan and Adam Aniah were supposed to replace Minerva if she died during office, but they won't be around to govern either. The presidency will probably fall to Geldegarde Monotoli."

Ness felt a shiver run down his spine. A few confrontations with that man was more than enough to scare Ness away from him.

"So is there nothing that we can do?" Ness asked.

"We should at least try to fight the Revivalists in the palace," Paula said. "Who knows? Maybe God has a miracle planned for us."

 _Right,_ Ness thought. _If people are hurting, I can't just leave them there._

"Okay," Ness said. "But I'm still not killing anyone."

Paula crossed her arms over her chest.

"I know you think it's silly," Ness said. "But please. Don't make me end someone else's life."

"You do it all the time with animals."

"It's different if I'm the one holding the knife. I don't think that I could personally slaughter farm animals for food."

"Well, I guess now's not the best time to argue about it," Paula said.

Ness and Paula took off towards the Dalaamian Palace. Paula's dress slowed her down, but the way that she commanded her movement still allowed her to run at a decent pace. However, Ness was in better shape than Paula after a semester of swordplay and a month of military training, requiring him to take frequent breaks to let her catch up.

They passed through the palace district of Yazhou, spotting surprisingly little wreckage considering that the Revivalists had supposedly passed through. Still, the lack of people out on the streets made Yazhou feel like a ghost town.

"I guess they went easy on the town this time because they knew that they could loot the palace," Paula said between gasps of air.

"That's not a good sign," Ness said. "We have to hurry!"

"You go ahead." Paula halted, bending over and gasping. "I can't keep up with you."

Ness nodded. His first instinct was to go over and assist Paula, but he knew that it would be best for both of them if he made it to the palace as quickly as possible.

Ness pushed himself into overdrive, sprinting towards the Dalaamian Palace. By the time that he arrived, he nearly toppled over from exhaustion. He stumbled past the elephant statues and into the palace. It didn't take long before he found blood and corpses on the floor. Like Paula warned him, the bodies belonged to both servants and guards. He stood frozen, staring at the desolation in front of him.

"Divine Rulers," Ness eventually said, nearly gagging on the stench. "Why do they have to be this cruel?"

In the back of his mind, Ness sensed hundreds of psionic auras scattered around the palace. He took another look at the corpses, finding some with only small patches of charred skin as injuries.

 _Starmen,_ Ness thought. _They're teleporting around and killing civilians with their lasers._

In that moment, Ness was tempted to break his vow and killing every starman that he could find.

"Ness!" Paula shouted, running into the palace. "What are you looking a-" she gasped, darting her head back and forth to make out all of the bodies and bloodstained carpets. "Oh my God."

"How did you get here so quickly?" Ness asked. "You looked like you were about to die back in the city."

"It took me forever." Paula furrowed her eyebrows. "How long were you staring at the scene?"

"I… don't know. But look." Ness pointed at the corpses without cuts or bruises. "I think that the starmen killed those people. I can sense their auras."

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it…" Paula trailed off, closing her eyes. "But I thought that starmen didn't really target non-psions."

"Maybe they're taking orders from the Revivalists," Ness said. "If we don't stop them here, they might destroy the entire city."

 _Would they really, though?_ Ness thought. _If the Revivalists are planning to keep Yazhou as their capital, they would want to keep the economy intact. Killing off everyone in the city doesn't exactly get business moving._

Still, Ness wasn't about to risk that chance.

"Listen," Ness said. "I think that I might have a way to stop the starmen."

"Really?" Paula said.

"Yeah. I have this psionic power called PK Rockin that messes with their senses. If I broadcast the power's effects over the entire palace…"

"Then none of the starmen will be able to do anything!" Paula said. "That's a genius idea."

"Thanks," Ness said, feeling his cheeks redden. "But there's just one problem."

Paula cocked her head.

"I don't have enough psionic energy by myself to use the power on the entire palace. I'll need you to feed me some of your psionic power."

Paula flinched, then hugged her arms and turned away.

"Paula, what's wrong?" Ness asked. "I promise that I won't hurt you."

Paula drew a shaky breath.

"That sounds too much like…" she said, wincing and cutting herself off.

"Like what?"

Paula turned back around and looked Ness in the eye.

"I have a confession to make," she said. "The starmen have been using me for a long time."

"W-What?" Ness asked. "What do you mean?"

"They and the empirists have been using me as their tool. Do you remember how someone shut down the Gate to Prosperity by sticking a device in? Although… I guess the government didn't really release that information."

"You mean…"

"Yes," Paula said. "I was the one who disabled the Gate. And it gets worse. On the way to the Gate, I ran into Pokey."

A chill ran down Ness' spine.

"Paula," he said. "Please don't say that you… you…"

"The empirist messenger who gave me the device to shut down the Gate told me that I needed to kill anyone who saw me with it. So…"

"No!" Ness shouted. " _You_ killed Pokey?"

"I did," Paula said. "And I don't expect you to forgive me. I certainly haven't forgiven myself. You're probably wondering why I went through with their orders. Any righteous person would have resisted, after all."

Actually, Ness had been too busy dealing with surprise and sorrow for Pokey to think of that question at all. He nodded anyway.

"Some time after we moved away from Onett, the starmen captured me," Paula said. "I was the subject of one of their experiments. They wished to understand us to that they could break us if they needed to. The starmen looked inside of my mind and picked out theoretical events that would inflict psychological pain. Eventually they decided that it was just easier to kill a human physically rather than break one psychologically, so I managed to escape and they didn't really chase after me. But the damage had already been done, and they continued to use me as a pawn."

"I'm sorry," Ness said. "I can't pretend to know what that was like."

"I'm not trying to fish for pity," Paula said. "I know that your life hasn't been a walk in the park either. I just needed to say that to explain why I flinched when you asked me to lend you my power. You see, the greatest weapon that they used against me was you."

Ness' head perked up. Had he heard her right?

"It's because I cared about you so much," Paula said. "They used psionics to get me to hallucinate you doing horrible things to me. In my hallucinations, you beat me. Sometimes, you even tried to kill me." Paula shrunk back, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And… you raped me."

Ness stood froze, paralyzed by Paula's words. He wanted to move in and comfort her, but would that remind her of her hallucinations and scare her off? Still, he couldn't just watch someone suffer like this.

"Of course, I knew that it was just a hallucination," Paula said. "You're the sweetest boy in all of Onett; even the devil couldn't have pushed you to hurt me if he tried his hardest. But after days turned to months and the months turned to years, I forgot what reality was. I thought that you really were the horrible person that my hallucinations depicted. That's why I've been afraid of you all this time."

"Divine Rulers!" Ness said. "I'm _so_ sorry, Paula. I had no idea… And of course I can't expect you to lend me your power with a history like that!"

"It is difficult for me to allow myself to enter a situation where you have so much power over me," Paula said. "After all, if I lend you my power, then you can just keep taking it and taking it until I overchannel."

"Of course!" Ness said. "I totally understand."

"But difficult does not mean impossible."

"What?"

Paula closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Listen, Ness. I _know_ how silly it is to fear you like this. I know that I should lend you my power and possibly save hundreds of lives. But my body just won't let me do it." She opened her eyes. "At least, it won't let me do it in this situation. I know that this is silly, but can you please tell me why I should trust you? Maybe hearing it from someone other than my conscience will wake me up."

Even despite the blood and death, Ness let himself smile. Paula was _trying._ Even if she had only been taking baby steps forward for all of last semester, at least she was moving forward.

It was beautiful.

"Paula," Ness said. "I've missed you for so long. Every day, I wanted to get you back. I think that I even projected some of your strength and helpfulness onto Ana. But now I can see that this is still you, even if you've changed. Thank you for telling me your story. You're an amazing person for getting through all of this, Paula. I really do mean that."

"That's… not really an argument for why I should trust you," Paula said, laughing as tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. "But I think it convinced me better than any argument ever could. After hearing that, it's a little bit easier to separate you from my hallucinations of you."

Paula grabbed onto Ness' hand.

"I'll lend you my strength," she said. "Let's save some lives!"

The smile on her face reminded Ness of how they used to laugh and play back as kids. That was the first time since then that she had smiled at him like this. Ness felt tears of joy start to run down _his_ cheeks.

"They're natural," Paula whispered. "Just let them flow."

Ness nodded, closing his eyes. He could still make out dozens upon dozens of starmen throughout the palace. He hoped that he hadn't spent too much time talking with Paula to make a difference.

"PK Rockin," Ness said.

He drew first on his strength, eating through his stores of psionic energy like a dog who snatched a piece of steak. Next to him, he sensed Paula open up and offer her stores of energy to him. Ness formed a link between the two of them without really knowing how. Now all of Paula's psionic energy was his. No wonder she felt nervous about this; he could use all of her energy for anything that he wanted and she would have no say in the matter.

But both of them knew that Ness wasn't the type to abuse the power that he held over someone. He drew on Paula's energy far more carefully than he had on his own; his body would send a warning message if he used too much energy from his stores but he would receive no such alert from draining all of Paula's power. After he gathered up as much energy as he reasonably could, he released it.

Vibrations rippled through the psionic realm in all directions, stretching far further than Ness could see. He hoped that it would be enough to take care of the starmen. He broke the link between him and Paula, setting her free.

"Wow, even my physical senses can tell that something's different," Paula said. "I can sense vibrations that feel… oddly satisfying."

"Thank you for helping me," Ness said. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"No, thank _you,_ " Paula said, smiling with both her mouth and her eyes. "I think that you just freed me from my fear once and for all."


	40. Chapter 35: Mirage Duel

**Hey, everyone. :) This story's about to come to a close, and hopefully you guys will like the ending. It's not super conclusive; this story wasn't planned to be a trilogy so it kind of just cuts off at a certain point. I'm also on vacation with noisy relatives so I haven't really gotten any more writing done. Hopefully I can be more productive after our trip ends... which will be a while. xD**

 **So yeah, this is technically coming out on Tuesday (since I'm on east coast time), but this is the best that I can do.**

 **I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but this is the standard book 2 of a trilogy where things get a lot worse before they get better in book 3.** **So don't expect a super happy ending for the characters at the end of this installment.**

 **Also, getting sunburned sucks. Just for those of you who didn't know. I swear I'm going to scratch my skin raw before the day's over.**

 **Anyways, I'll try to respond to reviews between bouts of sunburn being annoying.**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Agreed, villain motivations are difficult to write without sounding corny. Ana's trust issues do play into her moral struggles, but she's also just someone who thinks a lot more than many people do. She believes the worst about herself and looks deeply into her own actions. A lot of people act in similar ways to her but don't second guess themselves and are usually portrayed as the heroes in the stories. She's the one cheering everyone up, but she attributes her good behavior to selfish reasons (wanting to prove to herself that she can control her environment) that we really all suffer from. Ah, glad that you liked the Ness/Paula interaction. :)

 **A Fan:** Still longer than 5k words... it laughs at City of Progress chapters. xD But yeah, the end is near. Well, there are going to be plenty new conflicts that arise later, but the protagonists are indeed getting closer to confronting Giygas. Yep, that's basically the way that Kim designs his logic. He's always "following his heart" so nobody else gets to question him. I mean, Ana probably _could_ have beaten him in a logic fight, but staying alive was a more immediate goal. :) And thanks for catching the typo.

 **DarkFoxKit:** Yep, cue the Megalovania! :D And I'm glad that you liked the Ness/Paula interactions. Ah, thanks. :)

 **crabbyTomato:** Well, I won't tell you not to care about it (because that should really be your call), but I don't mind you missing chapters. :) Ah, good. Minerva's death was one of the scenes that I thought I played relatively well in this story. Yeah, her demise mostly came from Minerva shoving the poison up her nose. Everyone knew that she was a dead woman walking, which is why she didn't bother to resist Claus' stab with her psionic aura. Yeah, Kim isn't as hardcore Dalaamian tradtional as he appears. Well, there's super-ticked-off mode and survival mode also plays a big part. Hey, I'm just portraying the character as I imagine him; I can't help it if he's repelling. :P Yeah, I figured that would be the one thing Paula did that wouldn't annoy you. xD Well, it's not that Paula really _believes_ that Ness is the terrible person in her hallucinations, but she's been conditioned to fear him. It's like how I know that the water won't hurt me yet years of competitive swimming taught me to feel queasy every time I smell the chlorine of pool water. Yeah, I just had steak tonight, so I totally can't object to that.

 **Wimpy Guard:** All right, but as always I totally get that you're busy. :) Yeah, I have another one planned, and it might be a good deal longer than this one, depending on how things go (hopefully not, though). There's plenty left to resolve, and new conflicts shall arise. Yep, that's my specialty. The three Ds haha. Is that an actual term? Ah, really. Glad that you like the Heartstone idea, especially since it's mostly setup so that something else in the future doesn't seem too cheesy. Yeah, the Claus losing all of his emotions was close to Lucas, but I had to advance the plot somehow. :) Yeah, I killed off most of my OCs for a reason. Well, I planned Minerva's death as well as Ana's parents in that poison incident a long time ago, but I wanted to get rid of some of the other OCs so that people who want to jump straight into fic #3 won't get overwhelmed. Hey, sometimes simple lines are the best. :) I totally stole that style of the simple sentence that stands out by being a single paragraph from Brandon Sanderson, though. I can't promise to spare anyone... just like you in Power of Love. ;) ...Yeah, I'll read and review your new chapter eventually.

* * *

 _I guess I'm just trying to say in an unnecessarily scientific way is that all creation is born from destruction. This democracy rose from the ashes of an empire that stayed stagnant for millennia. So maybe Giygas' return to power is a good thing. Maybe it will throw me out of power and give the universe the forward push that it needs._

 _I guess we'll just have to wait and see._

* * *

It took every ounce of self-control in Poo's body to retain his combat stance when the starmen started to fall and flail on the ground. His Mu senses detected ripples flowing through the cognitive realm, but how…?

No. Poo didn't have time to think about the whys and hows. Someone had just saved his and Ana's lives by knocking the starmen over. He could honor their assistance by taking out General Kim and bringing peace to Dalaam.

"Ana," Poo said. "Take out the incapacitated starmen for me, will you?"

"Right!" Ana shouted.

Poo's Mu senses alerted him to Ana's movements as she darted over and hacked at a flailing starman with her Dalaamian-style saber. It took several hits before the starman whirred and died.

During that time, Poo advanced towards General Kim. The Revivalist leader grinned and took cautious steps forward, holding his lance in front of him.

"Well, this could actually be entertaining," Kim said in Dalaamian.

"I assume you know that your group's main belief is flat-out ridiculous?" Poo replied in Eagleish. "That Mu training is just psionics in a different form?"

"Of course I know," Kim said. "But fear drives stupidity, and a _lot_ of fear festered under your father's rule."

Poo grunted. He couldn't deny that.

"Don't you see it?" General Kim asked, barking a laugh. "We Revivalists are the symptom, not the cause."

Enough talking. Poo darted back and forth, trying to find a way to get in on General Kim. Eventually, he caught the Revivalist leader thrusting his lance too far to the right and he lunged to the left. Kim backed away and swung his lance, trying to catch Poo on the tip, but the Dalaamian Prince had already closed in. He caught the pole of the lance in his right hand, twisting it out of Kim's grip. He tossed the weapon aside, hearing it clatter on the ground several feet away.

"Not bad," Kim said. "Not bad at all."

Poo lunged forward, lashing out at General Kim with a flurry of punches and kicks. Kim only managed to block a few attacks, switching to counterattacking with his larger frame and muscular limbs. Poo stumbled and nearly collapsed to the ground as Kim shoved him back and landed a full-force roundhouse kick. Only years of training allowed him to get back into his combat stance before Kim could retaliate further.

"Listen, kid," Kim said. "You've got talent. But there's no way that you can stand up to my passion and determination."

Poo ignored him, throwing out punches and kicks with a mix of calm and emotion. He was a river, fluid yet treacherous. He let his emotions guide his blows without losing his state of reason. Poo's offensive drove Kim further back. Once again, the general tried to strike back, but Poo used his Mu to anticipate Kim's attacks and danced out of the way each time.

 _Let's see if you're so confident after I'm through with you,_ Poo thought.

Kim tried to use psionic powers, but Poo batted his hands out of the way to interrupt the manifestation every time.

 _Just like the Ceresian psions,_ Poo thought. _He's not used to fighting someone who can deal with his powers._

Eventually, Kim's movements started to slow. When he raised his arm to block Poo's strikes, it shook and quivered. Sweat trickled down the general's face. But even then, the superior smile refused to leave Kim's face.

"Psych," Kim said in Eagleish. "I'm legitimately impressed. I guess you'll live through the day after all."

General Kim See-Yoon leapt backwards and whirled around. He took off into a sprint, crashing through the massive double doors that blockaded the exit. Poo chased after him, knowing that Kim's fatigue would catch up with him eventually.

Poo realized too late that Kim started manifesting a power. He leapt towards the general and tried to grab onto his arms, but the way that Kim was facing away from Poo meant that the Prince had to circle around Kim's back. By then, General Kim had already finished the hand motions for the power.

"Teleport," Kim whispered, vanishing from sight while shooting a smirk at Poo.

Poo ground his teeth, but wasted no time before heading back into the throne room. Ana was still stabbing the floundering starmen, shying back to avoid the occasional wild laser.

"He got away?" she asked.

Poo nodded.

"I'm going after him," he said. "You keep killing starmen, all right? I don't think that you have enough psionic energy to fight Kim."

Ana scowled and opened her mouth to protest. She closed it after a moment's pause, walking over and stabbing the next starman.

"You're probably right," she said. "I don't even have enough energy to teleport you."

"That will not be a problem," Poo said.

He walked over to his father's headless corpse in front of the throne.

"Why did you do this to Dalaam?" Poo asked the body. "Kim was right. The Revivalists are the result of an environment that you created."

He grabbed his father's hand and pulled it under his shirt, pressing the dead man's thumb to the purple jewel on Poo's chest. The gem cracked in half and both parts fell to the ground.

"What in the psych was _that_?" Ana asked.

"My father attached that enchanted jewel to me to stop me from teleporting," Poo said. "Only his fingerprint can override that enchantment. He told me that he would remove it while he was alive once he trusted me enough, but I think that he was too bitter and paranoid by the end to do much of anything."

"I don't know how that feels," Ana said, sticking her sword into another flailing starman. "My parents were always amazing. I never had any serious complains."

"Yeah, I'm sorry for what happened to them," Poo said. "I saw the scene in the celebration room."

Ana closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"It's okay," she said. "I'll survive."

 _It's not your survival that concerns me,_ Poo said. _My father survived for over 80 years, but he only truly lived for about thirty of those. What happens if you start to grow jaded and spiteful like he did?_

"I'm heading off to fight Kim," Poo said. "I think that I know where he went. I'll see you later, assuming that I live through the day."

"Likewise," Ana said. "Try not to die out there, all right?"

"It's not high on my list of priorities."

"I'm serious. Without you, Dalaam is fucked."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"And Poo?" Ana said. Her iron expression softened. "We care about you too."

There was the compassion that Poo loved about the outside universe. People like Ana saw him as a human first and a Dalaamian second. He knew few Dalaamians who would reciprocate those feelings towards foreigners.

"Thanks," Poo said. "Believe it or not, it's really nice to hear that."

He took a deep breath.

"Teleport."

* * *

"God damn," Diana said, looking at the screen that displayed Poo teleporting out of the throne room. "This is intense."

"It's more exciting than anything that's happened to me," Voice muttered under his breath. "And I got my body hijacked at one point."

"Are you sure there's nothing that we can be doing?" Jeff asked. "I've been useless ever since I set foot on this planet. I want to make a real impact."

"Not true," Diana said. "You formed that PSI bomb during the empirist attack, remember? If Ness had one of those on hand, he wouldn't have needed to use nearly as much energy to render all of those starmen useless."

"Okay, well that was months ago. I sat by while Tony died. I sat by while Ana's parents died. And now I'm sitting by while Poo might be charging into his death."

"Yeah, I think I get what you mean." Diana sighed. "It's not a happy feeling to think that you're powerless to affect the world around you. In this case, there really isn't a whole lot that we can do. Like I said earlier, I can't teleport out of here and leaving the Shard would take too long."

"There's got to be something…" Jeff blinked, looking at the stained glass pillar in the middle of the room. "I got it!"

"Hmm?" Voice asked.

"The Shard of Ceres knows everything about humans and Osohe, right? I can get information on how to manufacture advanced weapons and armor. I'm sure that _someone_ figured out how to make a gun that shoots psionic lasers at some point in history."

"You want to get involved in the business of warfare?" Diana asked. "You probably don't need me to tell you this, but that's a big decision with real consequences that usually ends in pain. We picture the Romans as sophisticated and merciful, but their psionics-fueled campaign scarred the entire world. Do you really want to open up something else like that?"

"Of course I don't _want_ to get involved with the industry of ending lives," Jeff said. "But this is a way for me to make a difference."

"And your way to make a difference is by producing killing machines?" Diana asked. "That was your father's job, and the nuclear weapons that he invented were responsible for destroying Aphrodite."

"What would you have me do?" Jeff asked. "Sit back and watch my friends fight and die? I can't stay on the sidelines forever, Diana. I won't be a nameless civilian."

"If you insist," Diana said. "Just make sure that you're thinking about what you create, all right? If you release another superweapon like your father's into this universe, everyone from Earth to Ceres will cower in fear."

"Psionics are already that superweapon," Jeff said, speaking softly as he turned back to the bloody throne room depicted on the screen. "And right now we're seeing the fear that they create."

* * *

Poo appeared in General Kim's private quarters. Just as he suspected, the Revivalist leader stood inside, wiping the sweat off of his forehead as he panted. Upon spotting Poo, he leapt back and let a grin pop on his face.

"Clever," Kim said. "Not only did you know where I would be, you also had the presence of mind to free yourself from that enchantment."

"I didn't come here to talk, General Kim," Poo said. "Today, I will end your life."

"You can certainly try."

Kim dashed over and yanked off a sword that was hanging on one of his walls. Poo leapt forward and struck Kim's ankle while he was preoccupied with the sword. General Kim stumbled but didn't fall.

"Your fists are no match for a steel sword and a steelier heart, Prince of Dalaam," Kim said, swinging his sword to force Poo back.

Poo skirted around Kim's reach, trying to get a sense for how the general fought with a blade. The extra threat range that a sword provided meant that Poo couldn't afford to hold back once he went on the offensive. His best hope was to get in close so that Kim's sword would be nothing but an extra piece of bulk.

"Listen," General Kim said. "It may not be in your best interests to pursue this course of action. Even if you kill me, my followers will descend upon you like a pack of wolves. There's no way that you could maintain a stable rule over Dalaam."

Well, if Kim was negotiating then he probably saw Poo as a legitimate threat. The best thing to do now would be to press his advantage. Poo leapt towards the left side of Kim's body. As the general whirled his sword around to attack Poo, the Dalaamian Prince drove his palm into Kim's face. The Revivalist leader stumbled backwards, smashing through a door and entering the balcony outside.

Poo followed Kim onto the balcony. Only a waist-high railing separated the wooden deck from a thousand foot drop. The heavy incline of the mountainside wouldn't treat those who fell of the balcony gently. Looking out into the distance, Poo spotted the peaks of nearby mountains in the same range. Why did the rulers 2000 years ago decide to put Yazhou on this mountain instead of one of those?

Poo felt himself getting distracted and focused his thoughts back on the present. General Kim had shaken off the pain and once again held his sword pointed towards Poo. This time, Kim adopted a western-style dueling stance that consisted of facing Poo with his right side rather than his chest. That way, Poo couldn't circle around and attack his left side again.

"It's quite a fall, isn't it?" Kim asked. "Are you sure that you want to risk it?"

Both Poo and General Kim could use psionic stall to delay any damage they took from falling and heal themselves back up with Lifeup. Knowing that, why did Kim think that he could scare Poo away?

"Ah, who the psych am I kidding?" Kim said. "No matter which one of us dies, it will end the same way. The nobles of Yazhou rule Dalaam in name only. Surely you know by now that we Revivalists control the vast majority of mainland Dalaam? Kill me and another puppet will pop up in my place."

Was Kim bluffing? Poo knew that the Revivalists exerted influenced and usurped local governments far away from Yazhou, but he hadn't heard of control on that large of a scale.

"Come on, use that head of yours!" General Kim said. "I'm disposable! All I do is lead armies and organize lootings. Don't you think that the next guy down the line will do the same thing?"

"Then I shall kill you and him," Poo said.

He darted forward, straight at Kim's sword. The general's eyes widened in shock. Who would ever charge straight into their opponent's waiting weapon if they had the range disadvantage?

Well, Kim hadn't dealt with many psions in his time as a general.

Poo felt Kim's sword slice into his skin, but his psionic aura protected him from any real damage. Now that Poo was close, he lashed out at Kim's feet, sending the general stumbling backwards once more.

"Ah, psych," Kim said. "I've never fought someone who doesn't even care about taking hits."

Kim took another step backwards. His back tapped against the railing that separated the balcony from a several hundred foot fall. Poo didn't waste a second before embarking on his next offensive.

He struck as often as he could, completely forgoing defense to land a couple of extra punches and kicks. Kim hacked at him with his saber, but Poo merely noted the pain of each hit before retaliating with his fists. Eventually, Kim dropped his sword and grabbed onto Poo with both hands. Poo punched Kim's arms in an attempt to activate a reflex that would cause the general to drop Poo's body, but Kim didn't even twitch.

"Finally, you extend too far," Kim said.

The general hoisted Poo up and tossed him over the railing.

Poo fell through the air as the wind batted against his cheeks. He could make out the mountainside below him inch closer towards his face for every second that he fell.

 _Why does this make me feel so free?_ Poo thought. _To be honest, I wouldn't really mind dying right about now…_

Poo healed himself with Lifeup, finding the manifestation of psionics to be only marginally more difficult during free fall. Poo closed his eyes, working out the next plan in his mind. It was risky, yes, but it just might work.

"Teleport," Poo said, visualizing a location above the balcony.

Poo appeared in empty air several feet above General Kim's quarters. Looking down at the balcony, he could still see Kim leaning over, supposedly looking for the prince. Poo, falling several body lengths per heartbeat, approached the balcony at an alarming rate.

 _What if Kim senses me?_ Poo thought. _I mean, doesn't he have Mu training as well?_

General Kim did look up, but by then it was too late. He tried to scramble out of the way but didn't even manage to take a step before Poo fell past the balcony. Poo grabbed onto one of Kim's arms, pulling the general overboard with him.

Poo tightened his grip as he and Kim fell through the air together. Maybe if he could restrain Kim for long enough after landing, he could kill the general even through a psionic stall.

"Not… bad at all!" Kim shouted, flashing a toothy smile. "You make for a rather interesting opponent!"

Was "interesting" all that Kim saw Poo as? Because the Dalaamian Prince was about to give the Revivalist leader a lot more to worry about.

"But still," Kim said. "Not good enough."

Poo tried to restrain Kim, but the general's brute strength allowed him to move his arms easily.

"Teleport!" Kim shouted, making the necessary hand motions.

After a heartbeat, Poo felt his back land on solid ground beneath him. Even though his vision swam with pain, he could feel Kim pin Poo down to the ground. After Poo's vision cleared up, he saw out of the corners of his eyes that the ground was… pink? Had Kim teleported him to the Pink Cloud?

"Just shush up and die, now will you?" Kim growled, holding Poo's hands in place.

Kim clearly had the same idea that Poo thought up earlier. If he could restrain Poo for long enough, the damage from the fall would surely kill him. Poo struggled and flailed, and Kim responded by pinning down Poo's legs with his knees. Kim wore a triumphant smile.

"What makes you so sure that the fall will kill me first?" Poo asked. "I'm sure it hurt you just as much as it hurt me."

"Landing on your body softened the blow," Kim said. "I'll be fine."

Poo cursed under his breath. He hoped that he could still survive for longer despite that inconvenience, but that wasn't the only possibility that he wished to rely on.

"Any last words, Prince of Dalaam?" Kim asked, leaning over and teasing Poo with a smile.

Poo mustered up every ounce of strength in his body and smashed his head into Kim's face. General Kim yelped and leapt to his feet from what Poo suspected was surprise rather than pain. Poo scrambled to his feet and dashed away to the edge of the Pink Cloud. The ground felt surprisingly solid under his feet, which explained why falling onto the Pink Cloud felt like landing on concrete.

"Come back here!" Kim shouted.

"When people say that, do they actually ever expect someone to come back?" Poo asked. "Well, the sanctuary's power keeps me from healing my injuries, so I'll call this a draw for now."

Poo took a running start and leapt off the Pink Cloud, soaring through the air and falling towards the valley below.

* * *

Pan Lorune closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Ninten couldn't help but see himself in the sorrow-ridden man. He wondered if their similarities went further than physical appearance.

"What?" Claus asked, his voice devoid of emotion. "She accepted her own death. Shouldn't a scientist like you be smart enough to see that?"

"A part of me wants to forgive you for this," Pan Lorune said, his voice echoing ominously. "After all, the Heartstone that you consumed while using PK Love drew all of the compassion out of you and turned it into an attack. I know that this isn't really you, Claus." Pan's eyes shot wide open. "But I've never been known to listen to my reasonable side."

Pan leapt at Claus, firing different colored lasers from his hand. Claus ran forward to meet his charge and sliced through Pan's body like it was made with thin air. Only after Claus' sword passed all the way through and Pan's figure remained unchanged did Ninten realize that Pan's entire body was an illusion. Pan's illusion smiled and vanished from sight.

"Did you honestly think that you could fight me head on?" came a voice that echoed throughout the room. "I've got so many tricks up my sleeve that I can't even remember where half of them came from!"

Ninten looked around, trying to find Pan's real body. The back of his mouth went dry when he detected no psionic auras besides his and Claus'.

"Claus!" Ninten shouted. "We have to get out of here!"

"I suppose so," Claus said, running for the door.

"So close," came Pan's voice. "Yet so goddamn _fucking_ far."

Claus let out a yelp and collapsed to the ground.

"He's unconscious but alive," Pan's voice spoke. "Now, give me one good reason why I shouldn't slit his throat right now."

"It's what you already said!" Ninten shouted. "This isn't really Claus."

"Find another one. Use your own head for once."

"Please," Ninten said. "Hasn't there been enough death today?"

"…"

"I'm sorry that he killed Morgan," Ninten said. "But you let me go free after killing your father. Can't you give Claus a second chance, even if he might not deserve it?"

Pan Lorune phased into existence a few body lengths away from Ninten. He held two identical rapiers in either hand. He tossed one to Ninten, who snatched it out of the air.

"We fight," Pan said, staring Ninten in the eye. "No psionics. If you win and kill me, Claus gets to go free."

"Why…?"

"If you yield, he dies. If you use psionics, he dies. Please believe me when I say that I already hold that precious brain of his in the palm of my hand." Pan extended his arm outward. "If I give it a little squeeze _…_ " he balled his hand into a fist. "Then your little friend will never again see the light of day. So don't try anything funny, all right?"

"What does this solve?" Ninten asked. "Why should my strength determine whether my friend lives or dies? 'Might makes right' is the biggest problem with this whole psyching universe!"

"Are you ready?" Pan asked.

"I don't under-"

"Yes or no."

Ninten sighed. This felt like just another sparring session with his father. The illogical rules and the way that he felt like he was talking to a brick wall lit a fiery rage in his heart. Hopefully, it wouldn't lead him to do anything stupid.

"Yes," Ninten said, setting into his combat stance.

Pan Lorune advanced towards Ninten. Steel became a blur as the two exchanged blows in the modern fencing style. Both of them focused on trying to land low-risk stabs, often on each other's hands. For every movement of Pan's rapier, Ninten moved to counter a potential attack.

"Ah," Pan said. "I see that you're experienced at this."

"Not against someone wielding the same weapon," Ninten said, barely missing Pan's hand with a thrust. "With our psionic auras, this is going to take forever."

"Ah, did I forget to mention?" Pan asked. "I disabled both of our auras so long as we stand in this laboratory. A single false step could sentence you to death."

Ninten's body went even further into overdrive after that statement. No matter what, he could not afford to make even a tiny mistake. Even if Pan chose to take mercy on him, Ninten's loss would result in Claus' death.

"Of course, you could forfeit right now and ensure that you live," Pan said. "But doing so would cost you Claus' life. Are you willing to make that trade?"

Sure as psych he wasn't. Ninten lunged forward, stabbing Pan's hand and drawing blood.

"Gah!" Pan took a step back. "It's been a long time since I've seen my own blood. Our psionic auras sure make us complacent, don't they?"

Ninten didn't care about blood and psion privilege. He was fighting to save his friend. Nothing else mattered. He pushed Pan backwards with an offensive string of attacks, sending the scientist back into the wall. Pan barely managed to squeeze his way out and retreated to the back of the room. When Ninten followed him, Pan intercepted his advance with a quick thrust that connected with Ninten's hand.

Now Ninten was stuck in the back seat while Pan dictated the tempo. As Ninten flinched and reeled his hand back, Pan lunged forward and stabbed Ninten through the thigh. Ninten gritted his teeth, lashing back and catching Pan in the arm.

"You can yield at any time, you know," Pan said. "With your injured leg, I don't know how well you can dance around and dodge."

Ninten bit through the pain and advanced towards Pan once more, abandoning all semblance of defense and stabbing at any open spot that he could find. Pan, who evidently wasn't expecting such a bold move, struggled to get his rapier up in time to defend. Ninten managed to skewer his sword through Pan's hand a second time, causing the scientist to scream and drop his sword. Ninten kicked Pan's rapier away and held his own blade at Pan's throat.

"No, I don't want to yield," Ninten said.

"Heh." Pan cupped his wounded hand in his other hand. "You did it. You really psyching did it. That was the most fun I've had in months."

"Get away from here," Ninten said. "Leave Claus alone."

"Oh, but that wasn't the deal," Pan Lorune said. "You have to kill me first, remember?"

Ninten tightened the grip on his rapier. Would he really have to end someone else's life to get what he wanted?

 _You did it before,_ Ninten told himself. _You killed Boras, and he's a better person than this Dr. Andonuts or Pan Lorune or whatever the psych he really is._

But then again, killing Boras had probably been the worst decision of his life.

"Please," Ninten said. "I don't want to kill you, especially after you spared my life on Vulcan. Just leave."

"Sorry," Pan said. "Not going to happen. But why do you even care? You fought for your friend and now his safety is within grasp. Just stab me through the heart and everything will be okay again."

Ninten tried to force his tears back, but they rolled down his cheeks all the same. Why the psych was he crying _now?_ He had won!

 _The tears are trying to tell me something,_ Ninten thought. _I fought to save Claus' life, but is it really a victory if I kill another in cold blood to get what I want?_

 _…No._

Ninten dropped his sword, letting it clatter to the ground.

"Hmm?" Pan Lorune asked. "What are you doing?"

"Boras told me to learn from killing him," Ninten said. "And I think that I have. I don't know if this is what he intended, but I hope that he'll take it nonetheless."

"But your friend!" Pan said. "I could just kill him right now if I wanted to!"

"Just because I care about Claus doesn't mean that I can't care about you," Ninten said. "I won't view your life as disposable just because you stand between me and someone that I care about. You matter just as much as me or him."

For a heartbeat, the shocked expression lingered on Pan's face. His wide-open mouth shifted to form a smile.

"Thank you, Ninten," he said, his eyes twinkling with genuine happiness. "That gives me faith in humanity once more."

"So you won't kill Claus?" Ninten asked hopefully.

"I was never planning on it. I might be cold at times, but I wouldn't actually _kill_ someone like that. And like I said, it wasn't really him behind the reins when he stabbed Morgan."

"So this whole duel…"

"A lie," Pan said. "I only turned off your aura, so I was never in real danger. I just had to bleed like a regular human so that you would fall for the act. Here, let me heal your wounds."

Ninten felt the throbbing in his hand and thigh disappear, leaving behind a blissfully cool sensation.

"But I've got nothing left for myself," Pan said. "My mom and my wife both died in childbirth, while Morgan and my father got themselves killed. I wish that I could find some connection with people outside my family, but after living out here for so long I don't think that's possible."

"What about Jeff?" Ninten asked. "He's still your son, right?"

"Yes, but I was never really much of a father to him." Pan cocked his head. "Also…"

"Also what?"

"Never mind. Some doors are better left unopened."

 _Okay,_ Ninten thought. _That just made me more curious._

"But I can still believe in you." Pan smiled, shaking his head. "Take these knives, Ninten. Head to Scaraba. Obtain the Sound Stone. Forge the Sword of Kings. With that weapon, you might stand a chance against what comes next. I have seen it…" Pan's eyes turned purple. "And it does not end well."

Those purple eyes…

"You're a mystic, just like me!" Ninten said.

"Wait, you're a mystic too?" Pan asked. "Oh man, I'm sorry. You've got a nasty surprise coming for you in a few years."

Ninten blinked. Couldn't this man say anything outright?

"But… I think I'm done here," Pan said. "I suppose this is what _she_ has in store for me."

"She?" Ninten asked.

"The puppet master that I spoke of earlier. The one who pushes all of us in subtle ways to forge her desired outcomes."

"Stop speaking in riddles! What's her name?"

"Sorry," Pan Lorune said. "That information… isn't in the cards."

Pan Lorune picked up the rapier that Ninten dropped on the ground and stabbed it through his own eye. Ninten gasped, forcing himself not to look away. After a few seconds, Pan's other eye glazed over. Ninten took his pulse and found nothing.

"Please, don't leave me now," Ninten said. "I still have so many things to ask you. There's still so much that I don't know…"

Ninten knew that talking to Pan's corpse wouldn't bring it back to life, but he couldn't stop the words from flowing out. He looked over at Claus' body. Still unconscious.

Why had Pan Lorune or Dr. Andonuts (whatever his name was) decided to kill himself? He said that he had nothing left, but surely there was something that he could do to find the will to care _._

 _And you're not so different from him,_ Ninten thought. _Can't you see yourself as being a hermit in middle age? He had the same shitty past with your grandfather Coran, and it resulted in him pushing away the outside world like you did. Psych, he was even a mystic like you are. What's to stop you from killing yourself in 20 or 30 years? What do you have that he doesn't?_

Deep down in his heart, Ninten knew the answer. He had nothing that Dr. Andonuts' didn't. If Ninten lived Dr. Andonuts' last moments, it would be him dead on the floor.

Ninten hugged his arms and shivered despite the heating in the room.


	41. Chapter 36: Sacrifice

**Hey, people. What's up? :)**

 **So this is the last standard chapter of this fic. After this and the epilogue, Ceres #2 is done. So after Monday... you might not be seeing me for a while. Maybe. We'll see how things turn out. I'm also really tired right now, so I might not be thinking straight.**

 **I don't have much else to say, so I'll move onto review responses. Thank you so much to everyone who's stuck with this story for so long. :)**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Well, I'm glad that my characters come off as compelling (at least some of them). Haha yeah, Pan's stuff was supposed to be ominous and not super clear. It will all be resolved by the end of Ceres 3... which I will hopefully finish before _too_ long. Yeah, Ninten's not in a great situation, but he's not the only one in Winters going through some personal struggles...

 **ohmy:** Ah, thanks! :) And yeah, the vibrations weren't meant to imply anything dirty. xD

 **Wimpy Guard:** Oh? And how are you going to stop it? ;) Ah, that's a shame. But hey, maybe we can make the three Ds a new thing. You know, start an internet revolution or something. :) Yeah, my sunburned skin's kind of peeling off right now (too much information?) and it stopped itching like crazy. Being able to sleep is nice. :D Yeah, I added in the redundant part for... well, I can't quite remember why, and because it was my last round of editing I couldn't look over it to see how cringy it was. Yep, poor Jeff indeed. I mean, my writing tends to get a little philosophical at times (although hopefully not as obnoxiously spearheaded as City of Progress). Yep, Poo's alive... for now. :) Kim's character shall remain pretty vague... so feel free to draw your own conclusions.

 **crabbyTomato:** Oh yeah, I can't stop myself from peeling off skin. xD Although I mostly _feel_ better, which is nice. Yeah, Kim's not supposed to be likable in any way, really. His character is a lot just me being mad when people say that anyone can do anything if they just care enough. He takes that to the extreme, obviously. Yeah, Poo didn't know his father super well, and most of what he did know was pretty negative. Yep, the gem served as a cover-up for a plot hole (why couldn't just Poo teleport out during the interlude?) and a character moment. And yeah, Ness and Ana were pretty much the only ones with somewhat healthy relationships with their fathers (looks at Paula, Poo, Jeff, Diana, Minerva, Claus, and Lucas and shakes head). Yep, all the Lorunes die in such strange ways... and that's more true than you probably know, given what I have left to tell (cue ominous laugh). And it's true that schizoprhenics are mostly a danger to themselves (contrary to the movie stereotypes that depict them as criminals and serial killers). See you! :)

* * *

 _Even though I have a negative view of my place in the world, I wouldn't call myself a pessimist. Sure, I fucked up and I'm in no position to clean up my own mistakes. The bureaucracy of Ceres sticks me to the ground and prevents me from crawling an inch forward._

 _But other people might pick up the torch where I left it and carry on. I don't mean to brag, but I started out with massive intellectual potential. Surely there's someone even smarter than I who can learn from my mistakes and lead this universe forward._

 _So I guess someone just has to stand up. It doesn't even need to be a psion. The power of the human brain stretches far beyond creating fire and reading minds._

 _Because all it takes is one person to start a revolution._

* * *

 **Note:** And that's it. I know that these particular fragmented memories are less cohesive than the others, but, well… They are called "fragmented" memories for a reason. My next set of fragmented memories will focus on the conflict in Scaraba that occurred after Minerva's death.

It should be obvious why I made that choice. We could all learn a thing or two about what happened over there.

D.C; A.A

* * *

Ninten led Claus back through the icy lake and hiked over to the Snow Wood Boarding School. During their travel, Claus hardly spoke a word. He kept his head down and shoulders sagged. He trudged rather than walked. Ninten could only tell that Claus was still following behind from the rhythm of his feet stepping on snow.

When they arrived at Jeff's old boarding school, Ninten found nobody there to meet them. Apparently, all of the kids were away on winter break, just like Ninten and Claus themselves. After trespassing and sneaking into the school, Ninten found Maxwell Labs carrying on with some sort of chemistry experiment. By the looks of it, Ninten guessed that it was some sort of acid-base titration, but he had learned chemistry so long ago that it really could have been anything.

"Oh, you two again!" Maxwell said. "Is there anything that I can help you with?"

Claus grunted.

"Is something… wrong?" Maxwell asked, cringing as he spoke.

"It's nothing that will cause us to take out our mighty psionic anger on you," Ninten said, a weak smile coming to his lips. "We're just tired. Tired and broke. Do you know if there's some sort of inn nearby? We could probably entertain guests with our psionics to pay for boarding."

"You could stay here!" Maxwell said. "I mean, not that I wish to impose on you, dear sirs..." he grinned.

Claus grunted again. Maxwell scooted away from the psychic warrior.

"We'll happily take you on that offer," Ninten said. "Thank you for your generosity."

Ninten and Claus picked out a room that wasn't in use (most of them weren't due to the vacation) and unpacked their belongings for the night. It didn't take long until both of them were lying down on the mattresses with the light off.

Despite his fatigue, Ninten couldn't sleep. How could he sleep when the sights of Claus running his sword through Morgan and Dr. Andonuts stabbing himself with Ninten's rapier were etched into his mind?

After what felt like ages, Ninten heard quiet sobbing from the other bed. He opened his eyes but didn't move his body, not wanting to startle Claus. Luckily, he could look at Claus without turning his head. Even under the covers, Ninten could tell that Claus was hugging himself and shivering. The pain written on Ninten's face told him that Claus wasn't simply cold. Even with his eyes squeezed shut, Claus' eyes managed to leak tears.

The sobbing continued throughout the night.

* * *

After a pause, Ness collapsed. Paula caught him before he hit the floor.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"I feel… pretty weak."

"Oh dear," she said. "I think that you overchanneled. Hopefully it won't result in long term effects."

Paula looked into Ness' eyes. Then she shook her head; Ness supposed that the gesture was directed at herself rather than him.

"No, I need to pull myself together," Paula said. "Can you walk?"

"I think so," Ness managed, flashing a weak smile.

Paula stood Ness back up to his feet. He took a step forward and nearly collapsed again.

"I take it the real answer's no," Paula said.

"I can do this," Ness said. "See, I just need to take it one step at a time."

Ness took another step forward. His legs buckled under him and he fell on his hands and knees. He gasped, his arms shaking as he panted and started to hyperventilate.

"Listen," Paula said. "You pushed your body through a lot. Did you take extra power away from your reserves just so that you wouldn't have to draw out more of mine?"

"Yeah," Ness said. "I didn't want to hurt you."

Paula muttered something under her breath.

"What did you say?" Ness asked between gulps of air.

"I said 'typical.' You're too nice for your own good, do you know that? I'm starting to remember why I was scared to leave you behind when my family moved to Twoson. The universe is going to gobble you up."

Ness continued panting.

"But I guess we have more important issues to deal with," Paula said, her voice turning sympathetic. "Hmm. How do we get you out of here?"

"Just wait a minute," Ness said. "I can walk."

"You can't even speak without gasping for air after each word," Paula said. "You're in no condition to walk, especially here where the air's thin. Are you feeling altitude sick?"

Ness was feeling sick in general, if that counted.

"Ugh, we have to move quickly so that the Revivalists don't find us here," Paula said. "How did they even get into the city? I thought that Lucas did a pretty good job of fending them off."

Lucas… Ness' stomach tied itself into knots. Leaving Lucas behind was just like what his current situation felt like. He knew that he was too weak to make an impact, but it didn't make him feel any better.

"I've got it," Paula said. "Remember when we were kids and I used to give you piggyback rides all the time?"

Wait. Did she actually intend to…?

"Yeah, that could work," she said. "Here, let me help you up. Hold out your hands."

Paula pulled Ness to his feet, holding him by the waist so that he wouldn't fall over.

 _Okay,_ Ness said. _She's actually intending to carry me out of the palace on her back._

"Hey Paula," Ness said, his voice quivering more quickly than this legs.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that… we could be friends again?"

Paula gave Ness a smile that took him back to days before psionics and Ceres entered his life. When the used to play together as children in Onett, Paula would give him that exact same smile.

"Of course we can be friends," Paula said. "Now that I'm not afraid of you anymore, what's stopping us?"

"Really?" Ness asked, hardly able to believe his luck. "You mean it?"

Paula nodded.

"We just have to get you out of here first," she said. "Let's work from there."

"Indeed," came a voice from down the hallway. "If you don't scuttle away, you'll meet nasty people like me."

Ness jerked his head to the side, spotting a battered Dalaamian man striding towards them.

"General Kim," Paula muttered under her breath. "As if this couldn't get any worse. He'll kill both of us without remorse."

"Run," Ness said.

"What?" Paula asked.

"I said run. You know that you won't be able to get away while carrying me. I can stall him long enough for you to get away."

"I can't do that," Paula said. "You just neutralized hundreds of starmen with your awesome powers. The least that I can do is keep you alive so that you can help in the same way later."

"Please, just leave!" Ness shouted. "We'll both die if you stay!"

"And you'll both die if you run," General Kim said. "Your little girlfriend is right. I kill without remorse, and I need to release some of this anger after I almost lost to that stupid princeling." Kim smirked. "Too bad that you guys are right here and drained of psionic energy."

General Kim dashed forward and drew a curved sword. Paula let out a yelp and released her hold on Ness in panic, causing him to fall on the ground. Ness panted, looking up as Kim hit Paula with slash after slash. If Ness weren't using his hands to support himself, he would have covered his ears to block out the sound of Paula's screams.

"Please," Paula begged. "Don't… kill me."

"People like you are so pathetic when you're about to die," Kim said, lashing out with another sword stroke. "Pleading and moaning like it will make a psyching difference."

"Please…" Paula sobbed.

"Not that I really care." Kim chuckled. "You're free to act however you want. I would have no interest in changing you even if you were to live."

The next stab drew blood, indicating that Paula's aura was running out. Paula sank to her knees.

"Hmm," Kim said, glancing at Ness. "Were you the one to neutralize all of my starmen? From what I can read, it looks like you were."

Ness froze in place.

"Oh, don't act so scared," Kim said. "It's not _you_ that I'm about to kill."

That certainly didn't make Ness feel any less scared.

"Seriously, I'm not mad that you messed with my plans. In fact, that talent of yours may become an asset to me if I wish to turn on the starmen." General Kim scooped Paula up and held his sword to her throat. "How about this? If you come with me, I'll spare her life."

"Don't do it!" Paula shouted. "He'll kill me anyway."

"On the contrary, I have no use for another corpse," Kim said, "And killing you would make your boyfriend less likely to comply with any of my requests. I have reasons to keep you alive if he decides to join me."

"Paula," Ness said. "If this is the only way to save you-"

"Don't listen to this piece of slime!" Paula yelled. "If you join him, he'll use your powers against the rest of Dalaam. Think about it, Ness. It's my life against the well-being of an entire nation."

"Again, not really true," Kim said. "I could just kill you and take Ness by force. Trust me, I have ways to get him to obey." General Kim flashed a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "This way is just… easier."

"And you always take the easy way out," Poo said, appearing out of thin air in front of Ness.

Ness didn't even have time to worry about Poo's entrance. Kim brought his sword closer and closer to Paula's throat, a detail which took up the vast majority of Ness' attention.

"Poo," Paula said with a grimace. "Please end this façade. No matter what happens, I won't make it out of this palace alive."

"Paula, no!" Ness said. "We can save you!"

"I'm sorry, Ness," she said. "I've made my peace, and I'll celebrate if I go down as a piece of bait that keeps this devil incarnate from killing you instead. That's what life's about, isn't it? Making sure that the people I care about are safe."

Right after Paula finished speaking, Poo leapt forward towards General Kim, his hands balled into fists. Right as he was about to hit Kim, he switched his aim and lunged towards Paula.

"Telepo-"

Kim slit Paula's throat.

Poo froze still in the middle of manifesting teleportation psionics that would have sent Paula to safety. Ness looked back and forth between Paula and Poo, only comprehending in the back of his mind what it meant when Paula's throat opened and turned into a fountain of blood.

 _No,_ Ness thought. _This is just like…_

Ness squeezed his eyes shut. He saw Pokey with the knife stuck through his chest. Paula had admitted to killing him, right? She had used mind thrust and stabbed him with a knife to make it look like a non-psion committed the murder.

When Ness opened his eyes, he saw the same pale, lifeless body lying on the floor in front of him. Paula's eyes were wide open; her mouth made it look like she had been frozen in the middle of a scream.

Could she really be… dead?

"Clever, clever," Kim said. "Assuming that I would defend my own body, which would give you a chance to send her away…" the Revivalist leader chuckled. "Most people would have fallen for it. But I am not most people, Prince of Dalaam. Better luck next time."

"You…" Poo said, his voice shaking with rage.

"Hmm?" Kim asked. "I kill thousands and you just give me a haughty look, but I kill one more and suddenly you can hardly contain your anger? You might want to get your logic checked up, Prince Poo. But I'm afraid that our fight must resume later."

Poo ran at Kim, swinging his fists. The general leaned out of the way and landed a slash on the prince.

"I can't take much more of this," Kim said. "So goodbye for now. Teleport."

General Kim disappeared from sight right before Poo would have landed a kick.

"AAGH!" Poo shouted, bashing his fists into a nearby wall. "I… was too goddamn slow. I could have saved her if I had been just a little bit better."

Ness crawled up to Paula's body. He had to wade through a puddle of blood to get to her, but he hardly noticed the red liquid as it drenched his clothes. He sat up and put her head in his lap. If Poo felt terrible for not saving Paula, then what did Ness feel? At least Poo had tried to do _something._ Ness had just sat there on his hands and knees, not even able to stand up, let alone defend her. He had watched as Kim slashed at her, and all that he thought about in the moment was how pained her screams sounded.

Some time passed; Ness couldn't have said how long. Ana came out and gasped at the sight of Paula's corpse. By then, Poo had recovered enough to talk with Ana about what to do. Ness didn't bother to listen to their conversation.

"Ness," Ana said, walking up and squatting down next to him. "We took care of most of the Revivalists, but Kim might come back with more."

Ness didn't respond.

"Poo says that we need to go." Ana put a hand on his shoulder. "Do you think that you can do that?"

Ness looked down at Paula's face. What had gone through her head as she felt the cold steel slicing her throat open? Did she blame Poo? Ness?

"Ness, please," Ana said. "Stay with me."

"We were going to be friends again," Ness whispered. "Everything was going to back to the way that it was."

Ness ran a hand through Paula's hair. They had been so close to rebuilding their lives… Why did it have to end so abruptly? Paula had her entire life in front of her; why did she have to die now? If the god that she believed in was real, Ness decided that he was harsh and cold.

"What's that?" Ana asked. "You need to speak up a little."

"I'm… sorry," Ness said. "I'm ready to go."

"You probably shouldn't come back for a long time," Poo said. "With Kim on the throne, foreigners will probably be stabbed on the spot. Apologize to Xiyen's mother for me, will you? Tell her that it's my fault he didn't make it back."

Xiyen was dead too? Ness searched his heart for sorrow but only found a dull numbness.

"You're not coming back with us?" Ana asked.

"No, I can leverage my status to rally a force against Kim. While I've always scorned the idea of having a duty to Dalaam simply because I was born here…" Poo shrugged. "I guess I'm the one who can make a change. Let's see how far I can go. But I won't lie; there's a good chance that we'll never see each other again."

Ness bit his lip. So many people had died already. Shouldn't everyone just stop fighting and live peacefully together?

"I'm sorry, Ana," Poo said. "But I won't change my mind about this. I'll warp you as far down the mountain as I can without the air pressure levels messing with you. Are you ready?"

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Ness said. "When the heroes in the stories encounter setbacks, they learn something from it. They make sacrifices, but they accomplish something. What did we do to help Dalaam? Thousands died, and we have nothing to show for it."

"We're not heroes," Ana said. "We're just regular people. And people take steps backwards as often as we step forwards. I wish that this was a neat little story with a happy ending, but…" Ana looked at Poo. "We don't have anything else to do here. I think it's time to leave."

The Dalaamian Prince nodded.

"Teleport," Poo said. The word carried a sad ring to it.

 _Paula and I were going to be friends again,_ Ness thought. _For the first time in years, everything was going to be right again…_

The world faded around Ness.

* * *

"So counting the deaths of all the people we know," Diana said, "We have Ana's parents, Minerva, Morgan, Paula, and… your father."

Hearing about Dr. Andonuts' death hit Jeff like a punch to the stomach. He kept a neutral face and continued tinkering with a laser gun that he had created earlier. Thank goodness Voice had left a while ago; Jeff didn't want to answer any more of the ghost's questions about his new devices.

"Those deaths were partly my fault," Jeff said, looking around the room's crystalline walls and floor for meaning. "If you weren't here babysitting me, you could have teleported over and helped."

"Not really," Diana said. "Yazhou is designed so that psions can't teleport in without the abrupt change in oxygen levels killing them." She paused. "Although I guess I could have teleported to your father's lab."

"Exactly!" Jeff said. "I'm just holding everyone back like always. I know that sounds like I'm pitying myself, and I guess I kind of am, but it's true. That's why I'm going to make a change with this technology."

"Still, saying that you caused the deaths of your father and Morgan is a little bit of a stretch," Diana said.

"I know," Jeff said. "It's just… hard to sit by and watch knowing that I influenced the outcome by keeping you here."

"Tell me about it," Diana said, her eyes growing wistful. After a moment, she shook her head and returned to reality. "So what are you making over there?"

"This is a laser gun," Jeff said. "It fires the equivalent of a PK Beam."

Diana's eyebrows shot up. From his experience reading Mr. Agerate's facial expressions, Jeff could tell that Diana was impressed.

"So you got directions for how to create these things from the Shard?"

Jeff nodded.

"It was surprisingly easy. You just hook up a circuit and funnel the energy through a small space. It shoots out a beam just like a psion's."

"Well, getting all that down sounds pretty difficult to me," Diana said with a smile. "Minerva was always smarter about science and engineering than I was. So it really is just like a psion's laser beam, right? Except that anyone can use it."

"Right," Jeff said.

"And it doesn't bother you that you could be putting a dangerous weapon in the hands of regular people?" Diana asked.

"It's not like psions are any more responsible than everyone else."

"Fair enough." Diana paced back and forth. "It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It seems like we already have enough tools to destroy each other."

"I didn't just make weapons," Jeff said. "It's actually pretty easy to enchant a piece of armor to grant the wearer a psionic aura. Now anyone can survive sword slashes and arrows to the chest."

"Anyone with enough money can, at least," Diana muttered. "Where did you get all of the materials to make your prototypes?"

"Oh, Voice led me around to some warehouses," Jeff said with a shrug. "Apparently the Shard has some of those."

"I see," Diana said. "I understand why you want to create these devices and leave your mark on the world, but shouldn't you wait for a while and think about what these weapons and armor will do to the universe? Once you release them, there's no going back."

"I'll wait to hand them out," Jeff said. "But I'll keep a laser gun and some enchanted armor on me." He dug his nails into his palm until they drew blood. "I _won't_ be powerless again. Not when the universe might need me."

"The universe," Diana said. "Not your friends?"

"I'm responsible for more than them."

"Of course you are," Diana said. "If we don't care about the random people on the streets, we're no better than General Kim. But I'm scared for you, Jeff."

"Hmm?" Jeff asked. "Why?"

"Because you're alone," Diana said. "I think that's what hurt your father the most. He killed himself because he had nobody left. And while schizophrenia tends to be triggered by trauma and extreme stress rather than isolation…" Diana's voice softened. "I think that his living conditions meant that he couldn't get the help that he needed."

Jeff paused for a few moments to take all of the information in. He wanted to lash out at Diana for mentioning his father's insanity, but what would be the point in that? Jeff supposed that he was just angry that he had never really known his father while he had the chance.

"I get what you mean," Jeff said. "When I lost Tony, I had nobody to help me. When I saw my father's insanity talking on the screen, I could see a part of myself in him. Not that I have schizophrenia, but it was scary how similar we were in other ways. Just like him, I always feel like an outsider. I guess I do need someone."

"When I was Mr. Agerate, I wanted to be that person for you," Diana said, smiling weakly. "I guess I still do. Your father asked me to take care of you, so I almost see you as family. But I know that there's no chance of us developing a deep relationship. Whenever someone looks into my eyes, they think about all of the people that I killed while under the influence of my father. Even Minerva had trouble seeing past that, and we've been close since birth."

"No," Jeff said.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Diana asked.

"I don't see you as the person you were, Diana," Jeff said. "I see you as the person that you are. Someone who's bitter and lonely just like me, but also someone with the strength and goodwill to make the universe a better place."

Jeff smiled. He was surprised to find how good it felt.

"I'd be honored for you to be my caretaker," Jeff said. "I think that it will do wonders for both of us. Should I think of you as my mother? I've never really had one before."

Diana blushed, but her face still lit up with joy. A few seconds ago, Jeff wouldn't have even been able to imagine seeing her this happy.

"Just think of me as a long lost aunt or something," Diana said. "Being a mother is too weird. Besides, I'm terrible with children. But thank you so much."

"No, it should be me thanking you," Jeff said. "You always looked out for me, even when I was a jerk to you. And I still have a warm spot in my heart for you letting me go on all of those crazy adventures. Do you remember how we went out to check on the Gate when the starmen raided Ceres?"

"Ah, yes," Diana said, smiling and shaking her head. "I often wondered if I was too lenient with students. Coming from a cult environment, the last thing that I wanted to do was force anything upon anyone. But I guess you enjoyed it."

"Yeah," Jeff said. "And don't blame your lenience for Tony getting killed. He would have snuck into that psyching lab even if the whole Ceres military tried to stop him."

"Thanks," Diana said. "That actually makes me feel better."

Both of them stood there for several moments, looking at the stained glass pillar in the center of the room.

"Are you still going to stay on Ceres?" Diana asked. "Because I think that you should meet up with your friends in Onett. They should be heading back there soon. If you want to change the universe, you may want to start with Earth. It wouldn't surprise me at all if your friends got tangled up in the Scaraba conflict, especially since Dr. Andonuts basically told Ninten and Claus to go down there."

"That sounds like a good idea," Jeff said. "Do you want to come too? You could pick a disguise for yourself that isn't Mr. Agerate."

"I pulled that on your friends once," Diana said with a smirk. "So they might recognize me. But in all seriousness, I have other matters to attend to. With Minerva dead, Ceres is going to be a little chaotic." Diana's face darkened. "That's another reason why I want you out of Ceres. Things could get dangerous. Who knows what the ex-noble psions will do to the general population?"

Jeff couldn't refute Diana's point. As much as he wanted to stay with her, it would be best for everyone if she navigated the harsh political field on Ceres while Jeff tried to make an impact back on Earth. Ceresian politics were one area that Jeff wished to avoid like a disease.

"All right," Jeff said. "I guess we should both head out of the Shard, since we have our information and plans for the future. Would you mind showing me how to get out of this place?"

"I would like nothing better than to escort you out," Diana said. "After all, it might be the last time we see each other for a while. Just remember that if I'm not there with you in person…"

"Then you'll be with me in spirit," Jeff finished. "I learned that one from Paula."


	42. Epilogue: Lloyd's Letter

**Hey, everyone. In case you didn't catch the memo, this is the epilogue of Ceres 2, which means that I'm going on a break after this. It won't mean that I'll stop writing (on the contrary, I'll try to write more than ever before), but I won't be updating. At least, don't count on it.**

 **Also, I'm editing and writing this AN on the place where there's no wifi D: Poor me, I know. But if you're wondering why this update is so late, that's why. I've sat still in this plane so long that my body's convinced it's bedtime, so I should probably finish up soon before I nod off to sleep.**

 **So yeah, thank you so much to everyone who read this story all the way to the end. Without you guys, I don't think that I would have written more than a few chapters of my first fic. Hopefully I can be a professional author one day, and if that happens I'll never forget the part that you all played in helping me along. :)**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** Yeah, I do tend to kill characters off after they develop because killing them off before they develop is usually a terrible idea. When I present a character problem, it's implied that I'll solve it somehow and people will feel cheated if they die before then. Oh, don't feel like you have to worry too much. Not _everyone's_ going to die. :) Oh yeah, my main characters are not in a great spot emotionally. It makes me feel evil. D: We're not going to see any more Jeff until Ceres 3, but I will touch upon Ninten and Ness in this chapter.

Ah, thanks. :) I was desperate to find interesting character struggles for Jeff, and I eventually settled on the whole "finding someone to care about" thing. I'm not super proud of it, but given how poorly I wrote Jeff earlier on I'd say it's an improvement. Ah, yes, the nowhere pun. It took me a while to get it in Lucas' smash 4 reveal trailer. Yeah, Voice might pop up a few times in Ceres 3, but he's not a major character by any means. Yes, little about the Shard makes sense. Uh… I don't know what counts as a big reveal, but I tried for a couple during the epilogue. Thanks so much for reviewing every chapter and I'll see you around! :)

 **crabbyTomato:** Ah, I hope that your finger gets better soon. Although if a broken bone is involved, it will probably take a while... ouch. :( Don't worry, the heartstone doesn't last long; Claus in that scene had full command of his emotions and was dealing with normal grief. Yeah, I was going back and forth on whether I should kill off Poo, Paula, or neither of them in the last few chapters of this fic. I don't even remember why I decided on Paula. :( And yeah, your list is pretty accurate. :) There's also a lot more stuff that I have to tie together (looks at messy plans for climax and sighs). All right; see you later! :)

 **PSIBoy:** Hey, I don't mind if you miss some chapters. I'm just glad that you're reviewing now. :) Yep, I'm clearing out the OCs for Ceres 3 so that people who want to jump into the series won't be like "Wha..." while also killing of others for good measure. :( I feel like a bad person now. Yeah, I found it interesting as Morgan's character developed how she never really killed anyone directly while protags like Ninten kill in the name of war and self-preservation. Heh, I'm taking a little bit of inspiration from the WWII arms race for this fic, so it won't be all sunshine and rainbows as far as the consequences of these weapons go. But it's not like laser guns are really atomic bombs (this universe already has those). The reason nobody else popularized that weapon is that the universe basically stagnated for 2000 years under the empire's rule. It's like how Japan continued to fight with katanas well into the 1800s and required an outside force to mobilize a modern military. That's also my excuse for not thinking of futuristic home appliances and other tech gadgets. :) And speaking of PMs... I was on a vacation and didn't have much time, but I'll try to respond soon.

 **PKtofuMaster:** Yep, I'm sitting here past midnight finishing this epilogue off so that I can publish it. Plane rides are boring and tiring. D: But hey, at least it's better than any other form of transportation. Yeah, I'm taking a break from updating so that I can work more on just writing Ceres. Hopefully I won't burn out. :) Ah, thanks. I'll have enough free time that I'm hoping to update rather quickly, but I guess we'll see how it goes. Yeah, I got that same vibe as well after rereading my chapter. Since Paula's death was in the heat of the moment, though, there will be more opportunities for feels now and later. And yeah, both you and crabbyTomato didn't connect with Paula much. Not one of my more compelling characters haha. You fortell _a_ scene with angst? I shall surpass your expectations. :) In all seriousness, while the idea of new technology to shock the world in mostly negative ways is overused in fantasy, I'm still trying my hand at it. And Jeff might not be the one you should worry about in regards to developing schizophrenia... But yeah, see you later! :)

* * *

Ninten and Claus sat outside the Snow Wood Boarding School, watching as the sun set. Ninten took frequent looks at Claus, whose eyes never wavered from the red ball of fire in the sky. At least he looked in control of himself, thank the Divine Rulers.

"I can see you fretting about me," Claus said, his voice soft. "I'm sorry that I killed Morgan. Not that I liked her or anything, but..." Claus took a deep breath. "It was just so sad to look back on that moment. She wasn't going to hurt anyone. A child could have told you that. So why couldn't I tell?"

Ninten blinked. How was he supposed to respond to _that?_

"And Morgan's death pushed Dr. Andonuts over the edge," Claus said. "I killed two with one stroke. All because I was blind."

"I don't think it's completely fair to say that you killed Pan Lorune," Ninten said, "Or Dr. Andonuts. Whoever he really was. When I saw the look on his face, I knew that he had wanted to die for a long time."

"But still," Claus said. "I was heartless. But I guess that's what happens. When I used the Heartstone to boost the power of my PK Love, it drained all of the compassion out of me."

"See?" Ninten said. "It wasn't really your fault."

"I held the sword that stabbed Morgan," Claus said. "I can make excuses all I want, but in the end it was me who killed her."

 _But some excuses are valid,_ Ninten thought. _And this is one of them. If he hadn't used PK Love and the heartstone, neither of us would be alive right now. He picked the lesser of two evils._

"How long has it been since Ann teleported us here?" Ninten asked. "It feels like it's been months. Maybe school started again and we missed it."

"It's been five days," Claus said, a weak smile coming to his face. "Get a grip, Ninten."

Ninten detected humor rather than bitterness in Claus' voice. That was a start, at least.

"Dr. Andonuts told me something before he died," Ninten said. "Something about heading to Scaraba to find a 'Sound Stone.' Do you know anything about that?"

"I don't even know where Scaraba is on a map. Earth is a big place."

"It's due south of Fourside," Ninten said. "Through a strait and across the Southern Sea. It's a desert nation that's more culturally different from Aphrodite than Eagleland is."

"A desert?" Claus asked. "Eh, I'm not surprised. Fourside is already smoldering hot."

"Dr. Andonuts said that the Sound Stone would be important for 'what comes next,'" Ninten said. "And I know that he's crazy, but I believe him this time."

"So you're heading to Scaraba," Claus said.

"Yes. Will you come with me?"

"I'll think about it," Claus said.

They sat for what felt like several hours, staring at the sun as it slowly dipped under the Earth. Right when Ninten was about to nod off to sleep, he sensed someone with a psionic aura walking towards him. He turned to see Ana wearing a shirt and trousers, the same outfit that she always wore as a child. When she walked forward, the snow melted around her.

"Ann," Ninten said. "I tried to contact your telecom a dozen times over the last few days. Did something happen to it?"

"No," Ana said, averting her gaze, "But I wasn't ready to face you just yet."

"Is this about your self-harm?" Ninten asked.

"Wait," Claus said, looking at Ana with wide eyes. "You got into self-harm too?"

"What do you mean 'you too?'" Ninten asked. "Don't tell me that you slit your wrists or stab yourself…"

"Haven't done it as much recently," Claus said. "Besides, if I lose too much blood then my iron levels drop and I get super sleepy."

 _That's what he's worried about?_ Ninten thought. _His iron levels?_

"No, it actually has nothing to do with that." Ana looked Ninten straight in the eye. "I have some bad news about Paula."

* * *

Starman Jenny teleported into a room with a blond-haired child sitting in one of the capture pods. She recognized the boy, but only by reputation. Lucas, the first human psionic savant. All starmen were weaker versions of psionic savants, really; they were output devices for Master Giygas with no will of their own.

So why did Starman Jenny sometimes swear that she _felt_ things?

She looked into Lucas' mind and was surprised by what she saw. His cognitive map displayed quite a great deal of pain and bitterness, naturally. The starman brainwashing process often brought about those negative emotions that caused humans to act so erratically. But in Lucas' mind, feelings of thankfulness trumped all else. Jenny probed further and saw that the thankfulness was directed at another boy named Ness.

So strange, these humans. Right when Jenny thought that she had figured them out, they threw another curveball at her. None of the others had acted like this; why did Lucas hold onto this other boy?

Jenny halted her analysis as Giygas appeared in the room. Human rulers made their subjects come to them, Jenny knew, but such pride and condescension was not the starman way. Giygas was always where he needed to be.

"Master Gigyas," Jenny said in the orderly starman language. "I inform you that the human president Minerva Carpainter is dead. Minutes before her death while faking unconsciousness, she activated a large number of nuclear weapons using some long-range psionic powers unknown to us. The nuclear bombs wiped out most of our starman soldiers."

"IT GOES AS CALCULATED," Giygas responded.

"Why did you not try to prevent the president from destroying most of our forces?" Jenny asked.

There was no disrespect in Jenny's words. Starmen did not know the meaning of respect. Jenny was asking for information about strategy, and Giygas would respond in the same, logical way. To get annoyed or focus on implications only served to create clutter and chaos.

"THE PRESIDENT THOUGHT THAT THE BOMBS WOULD HURT US," Giygas said. "THEY DID NOT."

"But they killed most of our soldiers," Jenny said.

"LET ME SHOW YOU SOMETHING."

Giygas teleported himself and Jenny over to another location. Jenny didn't bother to take in the physical details of the new area; once again, such trivialities were reserved for less intelligent species only. What she did notice was a person standing in front of her with a wounded mind. Oh, her brain was perfectly intact, but she lacked a cognitive spirit that all other humans possessed. Why was that?

"THIS IS A HUMAN SPECIMEN FROZEN IN CRYOSLEEP," Giygas said. "NOW, IT IS TIME TO DEMONSTRATE WHY THE PHYSICAL DEATH OF MY SOLDIERS DOES NOT MATTER."

The next moment, Jenny was dead. Her physical body slumped and collapsed to the ground as the result of psionics from Giygas. Jenny looked at her body from the psionic realm similar to how a human would look at someone who snipped off a bit of their hair. It didn't hurt and she didn't really care, but she was at a loss for a reason why Giygas would kill her like that.

"AS YOU KNOW, MY CHILD, YOU STILL EXIST IN THE PSIONIC REALM AFTER YOUR PHYSICAL DEATH," Giygas said. "AND THIS NEW BODY SHALL BE YOURS."

Giygas thrust Jenny's spirit into the human body frozen in cryosleep. The physical body was unconscious, so she couldn't feel anything, but Jenny could somehow tell that she held the reins to this body.

"THE PRESENCE OF YOUR PSIONIC SPIRIT SHALL ALLOW THAT HOLLOW HUSK OF A BODY TO LIVE," Giygas said.

Jenny reminded herself that this person didn't have a cognitive spirit, meaning that they couldn't function on their own. But weren't all humans born with psionic essences? Had this human somehow lost their spirit?

"NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY DEATH SHALL NOT STOP US?" Giygas asked. "WE FUNCTION PAST DEATH. THIS IS ONLY ONE WAY WE RETURN TO THE PHYSICAL REALM."

"Yes, indeed," Jenny transmitted. "But who is this human and why do you want me to control them?"

"LUCAS IS MY ONLY PURE SAVANT, BUT THIS SPECIMEN COMES CLOSE. THIS IS EMPRESS MARY, THE LAST RULER OF THE HUMAN EMPIRE BEFORE IT DISBANDED."

The last empress? How could she have survived this long?

…Oh, right. Cryosleep.

"YOU ARE STARTING TO THINK MORE AND MORE LIKE A HUMAN," Giygas said. "I FIGURED THAT I WOULD GIVE YOU A MORE FITTING ROLE."

Jenny transmitted the equivalent of a nod. Perhaps her irrational interest in humans could better help her imitate one.

"THIS BODY YEARNS TO RECOVER ITS LOST PSIONIC SPIRIT, WHICH IS STORED IN THE KNIFE DYNALDAS. RECOVER THAT KNIFE, STARMAN 100101011011. DO NOT LET THE HUMANS FIND THE SOUND STONE AND FORGE THE SWORD OF KINGS."

Jenny felt the human body that she controlled wake up. The ice faded around the body, leaving her sprawled on the floor. Jenny received panicked signals that informed her of low oxygen levels and tentatively started breathing. Jenny, through this human body, opened her eyes and looked at the plain, grey floor beneath her.

It was beautiful.

"Yes, Master Giygas," Jenny said using the human's voice. She was surprised at how much it quivered. "I will play the part of a human to thwart their plans."

"GOOD," Giygas said. "THIS MOMENT MARKS MONUMNETAL CHANGE FOR OUR KIND. IT IS TIME TO SUBJUGATE THESE HUMANS ONCE AND FOR ALL. I WILL… ENJOY WATCHING THEM SQUIRM."

Of course, Giygas couldn't really enjoy anything because of his lack of emotion. Still, Jenny could understand why Giygas decided to stretch their conquest out. More time meant more data, and data was the key to the universe.

Jenny felt her other senses come to her. She felt discomfort as the palms of her hands pressed against the cool floor to support part of her weight. She instinctively recognized which way was up and which way was down without having to crunch a single byte of information. Jenny found herself smiling.

What did data matter when _this_ was how it felt to be alive?

* * *

Ness sat on his bed in his house. He wanted to say that it felt good to be back in Onett, but he couldn't comprehend good feelings in his current state of grief. When Tracy mentioned how nice the weather was outside and that they should really have a picnic, Ness looked at her and shrugged his shoulders.

 _Paula, Paula…_ Ness thought. _We were so close._

She died for nothing. They hadn't stopped Kim; they hadn't saved Dalaam. Ness felt like he betrayed a promise that he never made.

Naturally, Ana had been supportive of Ness' bouts of weeping despite the fact that she had been closer to Paula than he in the recent past. Speaking of which, shouldn't Ness be thinking more about Ana? After all, they were still courting. It might look bad if he spent all of his time thinking about another girl.

As he paced around the room, Ness noticed a piece of wrinkled paper sitting face down on his dresser. When had that gotten there? Ness walked over to pick it up, and then remembered exactly what it was.

This was the letter that Lloyd had given him before vanishing into the streets of Vulcan.

Ness' hands shook. Ness' trip to Vulcan felt like a lifetime ago, even though he knew that it had been less than a week. He didn't remember everything about the industrial planet with its grime and fumes, but he did remember key details about Lloyd. The albino child never showed fear. He always looked upon the universe with an amused smile, as if surprised that nobody else could grasp the absurdity of life. And he never cared about socializing. Whenever Ness talked to him, he always needed to take a couple minutes to convince himself that Lloyd wasn't a starman wearing a human disguise.

Ness took a deep breath. Lloyd had told him to read the letter only after he saw true destruction. Well, after what Ness had seen on Vulcan and Dalaam, he could safely say that he fit that criterion. Ness turned the letter over and started reading.

* * *

Greetings, Ness. I hope that you followed my instructions and only are reading these words once you've seen death and destruction. Otherwise, this little note may break your resolve altogether.

Where should I start? You are an anomaly, Ness, and I believe that's a good thing. Then again, most of you teenagers have egos so inflated that it makes balloons jealous. But you're not really like most teenagers, are you? The ideas of conformity and individuality are mere dots in your brain; you neither worry about copying your friends' style nor revolting against the villainous adults that built the world around you.

Through these characteristics in you, I see myself. Ah, don't take that as an insult. I've been more than a hopeless orphan at some points during my life. To be fair, it was a long time ago.

But more on me later. I know how your mind works, Ness, since it is so similar to my own. You break easily, but new life can grow inside the gaps of your mind just like plants sprouting in the cracks of asphalt. This is why I wanted you to see destruction. You wish to prevent unnecessary death, and seeing piles of corpses hopefully alerted you to the urgency of your mission. Please do not give up, even after reading what I have to say.

Now, I assume that you found a mass of people slaughtered by what appears to be a single person with a sword. Of course, I won't know for sure if this is the case since I'll likely be dead when you read this, but I think that's a fairly safe assumption. The perpetrator of these actions is none other than your friend Lucas. He's immensely powerful, to the point that I don't know if anything in the universe can stop him.

But perhaps I exaggerate. He's not quite as invincible as he appears. The real issue is that Giygas will probably snatch him up and use him as an elite troop. Yes, Giygas is real. It's funny that those cultists who try to kill me worship the harbinger of doom.

Is this too much information? Feel free to digest this letter in parts. You see that I've made the writing small and the paper folded into many parts. I have much more to say, but feel free to take it in at your own pace.

So we now have a situation where Giygas has either already captured Lucas or is planning on capturing him. It matters little which is the case; you cannot hope to stop Lucas from falling into Giygas' proverbial hands. Your friend Lucas is like a weapon; he is not nearly as destructive with nobody to guide him. Once Giygas takes control of Lucas, the war against the starmen will swing even further in the aliens' favor.

You're probably wondering what you can do about it. The first step is to save Lucas from his psionic savantism (his state of heightened combat prowess and lack of conscience), but I have no idea how you would even begin to perform such a feat. Maybe taking him to a sanctuary would help… I believe there is one near Onett called "Giant's Step."

The second step after saving your friend is to defeat Giygas himself. Giygas wants humanity either erased or under his rule (although nobody can say why), and removing Lucas from the equation won't stop that plan of his. Not by a long shot. Try not to panic; defeating the alien menace might not prove as difficult as you think.

I've spent many of my days researching how to defeat Giygas. It might have been one of the things that drove me insane, actually. But personal anecdotes aside, there is one way that you may be able to take him out.

It involves an item called the Sound Stone, which is located in a jungle to the south of Scaraba (that is what you call it now, yes?). I believe that you need to combine the Sound Stone with the three Osohe knives Dynaldas, Amourus, and Phonus. Ninten should have Dynaldas; Claus should have Amourus. I still have no idea where Phonus is. But even if you cannot find the knives, the Sound Stone should help. The reports that I found were vague and sometimes contradicted each other, but they all agreed that anyone who wishes to defeat Giygas must obtain the Sound Stone. I'm sorry that I cannot give you more information than that.

You're probably wondering why I chose to share this information with you instead of psions with extraordinary abilities. To be frank, you are the only one who might believe me. I suspect that you do not, but if you do then I would urge you to tell more adept psions about this threat.

There is yet another reason why I chose you. I believe that you, more than most people I've met, actually stand a chance of defeating Giygas. This may sound preposterous, but please hear me out. Your psionic powers are quite frankly weak, and I've noticed that your ability to stab things isn't what I would call highly proficient. But I don't think that any of that really matters. More than anyone else I've met, you care about preserving life, and your cognitive map aligns to that.

For most, power is a tool to harm and destroy. For you, it is a tool to save and protect. So I think that you can defeat Giygas simply because you can be trusted with any vast power that the Sound Stone may grant you. Again, I apologize for not knowing exactly what it does, along with sending you on this wild chase.

This leads me to the third and final reason why I chose to give this message to you. While defeating Giygas may appear impossible, you will find yourself facing another impossibility first: your friend Lucas. Psionic savants such as him are next to invincible, but I believe in your ability to break through his brainwashing. Because while you might not be smart or strong, you care way too much for your own good. People can't help but side with you, even if they don't know why. Please, use that compassion and good grace to save your friend.

But of course, you'll need your friends to help you. Not because this is some fairy tale where the power of friendship saves the hero but because you are a dependent person by nature. There's nothing wrong with that (again, it mirrors my own personality quite closely).

However, many of the people you know are not as intact as they appear. While you may be trying to rebuild your life, theirs may be on the brink of destruction. I urge you to pay attention to their needs as well as your own.

Let's start with your girlfriend Ana. You know how she's perfect and supportive? Yeah, that's just an act. The truth is that she's struggling with classic teenager problems: self-esteem and self-image issues. Of course, she's perceptive enough to realize that she's just part of a vast statistic, but that fact discourages her even further. She knows that she _should_ feel fine, but that doesn't make her pain go away.

And while I'm sure that you've realized how Claus can get a little unhinged sometimes, how about your friend Ninten? I don't suppose he would have told you that he's the heir to the empire (if it still existed, that is), and that he's related to Morgan and the royal family? Did he mention that his grandfather Coran suffocated him in a bag and dragged him over to Onett to get his powers awakened by the meteorite? And even he doesn't know this, but he'll develop schizophrenia in a couple of years. It happens to every mystic… including me. I guess you could say that it's my gift to him.

And then there's Jeff. Sooner or later, he'll find out the truth about his identity. I'm sorry to leave it at that, but I honestly don't trust your ability to keep the truth secret. I know that Ninten will come to terms with his fate, but I think that Jeff needs some time on his own to discover his past.

You probably don't believe me right now, but it's easy to check what I probably shouldn't about your friends. Ask Ana if she practices self-harm. Ask Diana Carpaitner about her true form (I promise you, it's not what you think it is) and look at their reactions. Their faces shall tell you what these words never can.

My point in telling you your friends' guarded secrets isn't to gossip but rather to illustrate how you're not the only one struggling. Everyone has their demons; you're lucky that yours are in the past. I would urge you to bring your friends together to fight starmen and look for the Sound Stone. Because Giygas _will_ attack soon.

And of course it is possible that the Sound Stone is just some sort of fluke and that Giygas is invincible. This is real life, after all, not some myth or fairy tale. But ask yourself if you would rather watch the universe go down in despair or watch the universe go down while fighting to your last breath to save it.

Now, you're probably wondering just who I am. I shall answer that burning curiosity of yours, Ness, but I must ask of you to not judge the contents of this letter based on my identity.

You see, Lloyd was never really me. Lloyd was a regular Vulcanese orphan who died over a year ago. I live on through his body... Although, considering that I will probably be dead by the time that you read this, I shall say that I _lived_ through his body. Dr. Andonuts created a machine that can bring people back to life, and Minerva Carpainter made a couple of tweaks after discovering it.

She figured out that it's possible to shove someone else's psionic essence into a corpse, and that the resulting person who comes back to life carries the identity of the psionic essence rather than the physical body. Basically, long-dead psionic spirits can hijack bodies that are not their own.

I am one of those psionic spirits.

I hijacked Lloyd's dead body.

My real name is George Lorune. I dissolved an entire empire on my own and got myself executed shortly after.

I was the last emperor.

* * *

Ness didn't know how long he had been staring at Lloyd's letter. He set the parchment down and proceeded to pace back and forth.

Contrary to what Lloyd likely expected, his message didn't discourage Ness.

It gave him a new source of hope.

"Lucas," Ness said out loud. "I can still save you. I can still save everyone."

Ness sat down on his bed, frowning and furrowing his eyebrows. He trusted Lloyd, oddly enough. Something about his no-nonsense demeanor just made him appear so… genuine.

 _Did I just go insane?_ Ness thought. _I'm just a student at a psionics school. There's no way that I can save the universe._

But was he really _just_ a student? Any connection Ness felt to school had long been severed. Students learned information and studied theories on psionics. They didn't fight in active war zones or participate in political struggles in foreign countries.

No, Ness wasn't the same person who spent all night studying for tests and took the next few days to fret about his performance. He had chosen to become a part of something bigger.

"Paula," Ness said. "Mr. and Mrs. Aniah. I know that you died for nothing, but…" Ness took a deep breath. "I have a chance to make this right. I have a chance to help a friend and stop Giygas. Maybe then everyone else can live without fear of your fate."

Ness squeezed his eyes shut, but tears streamed out of his eyes nonetheless.

"You're gone," Ness said. "And I can't ever hope to bring you back. But at least I know what I'm working towards."

Thunder sounded in the distance. Ness looked out at the grey sky as raindrops trickled down the window panes.

"I want to create a universe where people like you can laugh and smile," Ness said. "I want to create a universe of peace."

Such a silly idea had never before given him so much comfort.


End file.
